Trials and Tribulations
by element90
Summary: Falling in love was easy, but then came the relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 1

Long before the first rays of the morning sun will break over the horizon, two best friends giggle quietly as they weave through a maze of jagged boulders along a towering hillside. She turns to look back at him as his sneaker slips in the loose gravel causing him to fall ungracefully onto the sandy earth beneath him.

He spits out some dust and glances up at her as she tries to stifle a laugh. "Glad to amuse you, Keel," he says with a grunt as he pushes himself back up to his feet. He unsuccessfully tries to clean off his jean-clad knees while she offers a less than sincere apology through a light-hearted chuckle. He rolls his eyes and looks up at the deep purple hues of the pre-dawn sky.

"Are you going to tell me why we're stumbling through the dark at such an hour?" he asks looking back at her with a tilt of his head.

She shakes her head and replies with a smile, "_We're_ stumbling?"

Phil takes extra care to step over a couple of small stones as he cautiously makes his way towards her. "Oh, right," he scoffs while watching the ground closely, "pardon me."

He reaches out his arms to run his fingers along the rough, rocky surfaces on either side of him trying to navigate through the unfamiliar terrain. Teetering slightly as he reaches the top of the small incline in the path, he breathes out a sigh. "Maybe if you'd have planned this little trail walk during actual daylight," he says with a smirk, "I wouldn't be falling on my face."

Turning to point at a ledge up ahead, Keely replies excitedly, "But it's important that we get there before the sun rises."

"Why?" he asks holding out his arms.

She doesn't answer him; instead, she continues the short distance to their destination. Phil rolls his eyes again and follows after her though with much more difficulty than she seems to be having.

Within a minute or two, he finally reaches the ledge where she has all ready made herself comfortable. Her face is softly illuminated by the subtle glow in the eastern sky. She sits with her eyes closed and her lips slightly parted, while a light gust of chilly air causes a few silky blonde strands of hair to lift from her shoulders. She shivers and nestles further into the warm confines of her fleece jacket.

Phil watches her while wondering about the reason for her current peaceful state and the unexpected very early morning phone call requesting his presence outside the front of her house as soon as possible. He hadn't even questioned her; he just simply ran to her side without a moment of hesitation. Of course, after realizing that she was not in any apparent distress, he was curious as to why she had called him. And when she grabbed him by the hand with a sparkle in her eyes and a smile upon her lips and began dragging him through their darkened neighborhood, he was beginning to think she'd lost her mind.

"Sit down, Phil," she softly demands without looking up at him.

He shakes himself from his reverie and lowers himself to the wind-worn smooth surface of the rocky overhang. Dangling his legs off the edge, he peers down uneasily at the ground below.

Keely opens her eyes and turns to look at him with a hint of concern in her face. "You're not afraid of heights, are you? 'Cause we're not even that high up."

He shakes his head. "No, no, no." He pats the ledge testing its integrity. "Just not too sure about this particular place you've chosen to rest on."

She smiles. "This old rock has been here a lot longer than either you or me, Phil," she says running her hand across its surface before looking back at him. "We are perfectly safe."

He nods believing she knows what she's talking about as she sets her eyes back on the horizon glowing like fire as the sun prepares to finally peak over the landscape.

"Here it comes," she says with an air of nostalgia. Phil tears his eyes from the sight out ahead of them to gaze at her in wonder just as the sun's light graces her features. Her eyes light up as she lowers her head. "See," she says pointing down off the ledge.

Following the imaginary path she's drawn with her finger to the place where her undivided attention rests, Phil sees a spectacular display of light and shadow projected onto the flat land below them.

"Wow.." he utters in amazement at the sight of the unusal shapes covering a small area of ground beneath a tall rock wall riddled with holes in which the rays of sunlight pass through to strike the earth.

Keely smiles satisfied with herself at having surprised him so. "Understand why the rush now?"

He nods slowly watching the patterns start to change as the sun rises higher in the sky.

The breeze picks up a bit, and Keely stuffs her hands into her coat pockets. As the shapes of light disappear, Phil sighs contentedly and turns to her.

"That was really cool," he says with a delightful grin.

Keely laughs softly and nods her agreement as he looks out at the scene before them painted in orange by the sun. He finally has a good view of the crooked path they traveled to get here. He turns back to her and asks curiously, "Is that why you brought me here, Keel?"

She smiles and glances about the spot they occupy with an innocence in her eyes he's never seen before that only deepens his curiosity. "Did you have a certain spot where you'd go as a kid to hide away from the rest of the world?" She looks at him. "A place where you could pretend to be anything you wanted to be?"

Phil nods. "I see," he says quietly as he slightly tilts his head skywards before looking back at her with a smile. "Now I know why there was no 'we' to the stumbling."

"Yeah, I've been here a time or two," she admits shrugging sheepishly.

Phil shakes his head and continues to answer her question. "I did," he begins reminiscently, "I'd go to this seaside castle in Scotland with a drawbridge, and a mote, and codes of arms..." he trails off lost in his memories.

Keely raises her eyebrow. "A castle," she asks slowly, "in Scotland?"

He blinks and looks at her. "Oh, well," he explains with a shrug, "a _virtual_ castle in _virtual_ Scotland." She nods in understanding as he winces. "I guess it's kind of different."

But she shakes her head in opposition. "No, it's not different at all."

He asks in disbelief. "It's not?"

She smiles. "You didn't have to use much imagination," she says with a shrug, "but it was still your secret place." She adds with a playful smirk, "So was little Phil a knight?"

He laughs. "Yeah, actually he was." Keely chuckles softly at the mental image of a little brown-headed boy with big warm eyes bravely mounting his mighty steed with his body armor shining and the long blade of his sword swinging through the air.

Phil nudges her side with his elbow as he lowers his head to ask, "And who was little Keely?"

She glances behind them as the memories flood her mind. She sees a little blonde girl in a flowy white dress with a golden crown placed haphazardly on her head as she twirls around in the sunlight giggling to herself.

Turning her attention back to the present and the boy sitting beside her, she smiles. "I was a medieval princess."

Raising his eyebrows in pleasant surprise, Phil replies, "Well, how about that?"

They share a laugh at the strange coincidence as they both think of how their childhood selves had unknowingly dreamed of being the other's exact and equal opposite.

After a few comfortable silent moments, Keely says gently, "I never told anyone about this place. Not my friends or my mom..."

Phil regards her curiously as the implications behind her words settle into his chest with a warmth that staves off the chilly light wind sweeping across the land.

Keely sighs heavily and glances up at the wispy clouds stretching towards the east. "I haven't been here in a long time." She turns her head to look at him with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Not since the day you told me you were from the future."

Not expecting that, Phil just waits for her to continue without speaking a word. Her gaze lingers on his face briefly before lowering to her lap. "I was so angry at you that day," she confesses softly.

As guilt creeps into his heart, Phil slumps his shoulders and hangs his head. Keely glances over at his sullen posture and reaches out to rest her hand on his knee. He looks up at her as she says trying to reassure him, "But that was before I understood."

She removes her hand and quickly stands up setting her eyes back on the horizon. "I felt so betrayed," she says with a distant gaze. She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "But I was sad more than anything else."

Phil glances up at her with a questioning look in his dark eyes as she continues. "I thought I was losing my best friend." She looks down at him sorrowfully. "I didn't want to lose you, Phil," she says sincerely.

His throat constricts at the inflection in her low voice as he slowly rises to his feet to stand next to her. She smiles sadly and shakes her head. "I was so furious at life at that moment," she says gently kicking a small pebble off the ledge. "It was so unfair," she adds looking out into the distance.

Expelling a long breath of air and looking down at his feet, Phil agrees, "I know."

She shrugs as a bitter laugh escapes her. "I came here to pretend like you didn't exist."

Looking up at her, Phil opens his mouth to apologize, but she interrupts him by holding up her hand. "But of all the things I've pretended in this place," she says looking around before setting her eyes on his face, "I couldn't pretend that you didn't matter to me."

She breathes out a sigh of relief at having such a burden finally being lifted from her as she confesses something that she's been holding in for a long time. Telling him this has been a rewarding experience in more ways than one: first, she feels better and then apparently, so does Phil. A bright smile graces his lips as his eyes shine with sheer pride at meaning that much to the most amazing person he's ever met in any century.

"This place always made me happy," she says gesturing to it with her arm while keeping her gaze steadily fixed on him. "It always helped me feel better about the world and my life..." After a beat, she continues.

"But I don't need this place anymore for that," she says confidently straightening her shoulders. Inhaling a deep breath and smiling shyly she finishes softly, "because now I have you."

A puff of wind blows by, though warmed now by the sun's heat, and Keely pushes her hair back from her face as Phil watches her intently while a smile tugs at the corner of his lips. She breathes out a little laugh and looks down off the ledge. He moves to sit in his previous position on the edge of the rock. She stares down at him with curiosity written on her face as he glances up at her with a lopsided grin and pats the spot by his side.

Without a word, Keely accepts his silent invitation as she shrugs out of her coat no longer needing it to protect her against the breeze and places it in her lap.

"So the real reason I brought you here," she explains as they both gaze out onto the grassy plain, "was to share this special place with someone equally as special."

Phil cuts his eyes over at her feeling a little embarrassed by her admission, though it warms him inside to have heard it. As Keely turns her head to look at him, she can see that warmth tinted in his cheeks. She shakes her head and smiles at his boyish, yet very adorable, reaction.

"Well," he says clearing his throat, "I'm glad you did." He adds sincerely, "Thanks."

Keely nods and looks away as Phil debates his next move, one which would ordinarily never cause him to second guess it, but now the simple act seems to be taking on a whole new meaning. Without further contemplation, he slides his arm around her shoulders pulling her the smallest bit closer to his side.

She shouldn't be surprised at the feel of his arm wrapped around her like that considering the countless times they have both done such a thing, but something about his hesitancy strikes her in an odd way. However, she easily leans into him despite the tingling sensation along her spine.

As they hold each other close and gaze at the valley stretching out beyond their little town onto the distant horizon, another breeze float by but from a different direction than before.

"Hey Keely?" he asks suddenly as an idea that's been weighing on his mind for quite some time comes to him.

"Yeah?" she replies watching the wind whip through a group of shrubs below them.

Phil turns his head slightly to look at her profile. As he searches for the right words to phrase his question, he finds himself transfixed on the way the soft yellow sunlight shines upon her hair. Even though he knew she was a pretty girl from the moment he first laid eyes on her, he's never really thought of his best friend as being so beautiful until now. Her outer beauty nearly outshines that which lies within.

She catches him watching her in her peripheral vision, and she turns her head to meet his eyes. The look in their dark depths is one she is not too familiar with; though, she has seen that look before on at least one occasion. Briefly her mind flashes back to the night they shared a quiet dance in his family's garage. Thinking about the moment that seems so far away now, she wonders if he had felt the same stir of emotions she had at their unprecedented close proximity.

Another light breeze tosses her hair across her face, and she sticks it back behind her ear in slight irritation. The movement breaks both of their gazes. Phil removes his arm from her shoulders and lowers his eyes to his lap where he rubs his hands together distractedly. She wonders if he has forgotten what he was going to say earlier as she opens her mouth to question him, but he speaks before she can form the words.

"How do..." he begins unsure of his ability to finish as he glances back up to see her watching him expectantly.

"What?" she asks with the faintest furrow of her brow as his apparent nervousness confuses her.

Phil takes a deep breath and takes the plunge. "How do you feel about me?"

Keely raises her eyebrows in surprise, while he bites down on his lip awaiting her response. The question is certainly unexpected; however, she can't ignore the dozens of times she's asked herself that and wondered if he was doing the same thing.

He tries not to take her silence as a bad sign; instead, he chooses to let his own feelings be known before any possible chance of rejection presents itself. "I like you, Keely." As soon as the words leave his mouth, he mentally kicks himself for sounding so juvenile. He tries again. "I mean, I have feelings for you that..." he says as she nods her head the slightest bit, "go deeper than friendship..."

She frowns, and his heart sinks as he start to regret having said that to her. "You don't seem very sure," she replies slowly.

Phil shakes his head as he begins to understand why she reacted in such a manner. "Oh, no," he says with a nervous chuckle, "I just wasn't sure of how I said it." She nods as he adds seriously, "But I meant every word."

Keely smiles in relief much to her surprise. "Ok," she breathes out.

He glances quickly down and back up as he raises his eyebrow. "So..."

She closes her eyes feeling slightly embarrassed as she shakes her head and emits a light laugh. "Sorry," she says before looking at him again. "I..have..I feel the same way," she finally admits.

A smiles spreads across his face. "Really?"

She nods. "Really," she confirms before furrowing her brow. "Wait, you mean you didn't know?"

He shakes his head. "I didn't know," he replies through his smile. "I _hoped_."

Keely looks down at her hands for a beat before glancing back up at him. "Me too."

Phil scoffs lightly. "Like you didn't have a clue."

She shrugs. "Well, maybe a little one."

He laughs and looks out ahead of them for a moment before cutting his eyes over at her. "What gave me away?"

Wrinkling her nose, she thinks about that for a second, and honestly, she can't pinpoint any one specific moment that awakened her suspicions. "I don't know," she says tilting her head to the side.

"Too many to mention?" he teases.

"Something like that," she replies mysteriously.

Accepting her reply, Phil breathes out a sigh of content and stretches his arms up over his head. A small yawn escapes him, and Keely laughs at the sleepiness in his warm eyes. He shrugs sheepishly as she reaches over him to grasp his wrist tilting it to where she can read the time.

"I guess we should head back," she says dropping his wrist and slowly rising to her feet.

Phil stands up too wincing as a random bone somewhere in his body pops. Keely glances down at him taking in his appearance. His jeans are smeared with dirt, his t-shirt is rumpled, and his jacket is partially covered in stringy pieces of dry weeds.

She smiles sympathetically. "You didn't hurt yourself earlier, did you?"

He waves her off. "Nah, I'm good." He wipes at his eyes and smiles. "I could use a nap, though."

She laughs and pats his shoulder as they start to make their way off the ledge back onto the sandy path. A few feet down, Keely glances back at him as he carefully checks his footing each time he takes a step.

"Come on, Phil," she says with a laugh, "it's not even dark anymore."

Keeping his eyes firmly on the ground in front of him, he asks feigning ignorance, "Hey, are you the one who fell?"

Keely chuckles. "No," she says rolling her eyes.

He steps up next to her and finally looks up. "That's right, it was me." He adds with a grin, "And I blame _you_ for it."

She scoffs as she places a hand to her chest. "You being clumsy is my fault?"

He narrows his eyes at her like he's angry, but the twitching of his lips says otherwise. "No, you dragging me on a nature hike before any sane person would be awake and thereby causing the conditions in which I _could_ fall is your fault." He adds wagging a finger at her, "And I'm not clumsy."

Smiling sweetly, she holds out her hand. Phil raises his eyebrow. "What?"

"Take my hand," she says softly.

Grinning widely, he does just that as he asks casually, "So..are you free Saturday night?"

She winks and turns to lead him down the trail as they chat along the way. Soon they reach the bottom of the hill without a single misstep.


	2. Chapter 2

Yeah, I caught that incorrect spelling after the fact, and it's slowly becoming an issue. :) Pesky neurological glitches. I thank you guys, you know who you are, for your always wonderful reviews. But, gee, can you put a little more pressure on a girl? Perfectionist, remember:)

Chapter 2

Standing with her hands on her hips, Keely frowns at the messy pile of clothes on her bed. After having nearly emptied the entire contents of her closet within mere minutes, she sighs hopelessly. Unenthusiastically, she picks at the various blouses, jeans, and skirts all of which only further deepen her disgust and despair.

"I can't wear this stuff," she says to herself closely inspecting a top she had just recently bought and was actually quite fond of at the time of purchase. But now the article of clothing has vastly lost its appeal as she tries to find the perfect outfit for her date tonight.

Her date with Phil. The thought resonates like a gong in her brain despite the numerous times she's had it. A part of her can't really grasp the fact that in less than three hours, her best friend is going to knock at her front door with the intention of taking her out to dinner at a real restaurant and not some pizza joint with dozens of kids screaming and sirens on top of frivolous games blaring in her ears. No, tonight, she'll be enjoying an intimate dinner for two, preferably at a quiet candle-lit corner table.

Then again, with the amount of pressure she feels just to find something to wear this evening, maybe that pizza joint doesn't sound so bad after all.

Tossing the shirt back onto the pile, she irritatedly taps her foot against the plush carpet. "None of this will do," she says shaking her head and quickly walking to her closet. Staring at the skeletal remains therein, she spies a hopeful prospect stuffed in between two large winter parkas, which haven't been worn once.

"Ah ha!" she exclaims in delight as she snatches the item from its plastic hanger. Holding the sheer material proudly to her chest, she smiles in relief at having found the perfect outfit...but then she frowns again realizing she lacks something to cover her lower half. Plus, she still has to find some shoes, a cute handbag, and a few complimentary accessories. Casting a glance at her reflection in her vanity mirror, she winces and makes note to fix the 'do' and add some makeup to complete the look.

She sighs and checks the clock again for the fiftieth time since she began her search for the perfect apparel. As it ticks away the seconds without any concern for her race against them, she swears she can hear faint mocking laughter. Narrowing her eyes at its face, she then quickly scans over the pile and grabs up the first suitable skirt and spaghetti-strap tank she lays eyes on.

"Ok," she breathes out glancing around her bedroom briefly before beginning her transformation.

Not too far away, a much less spastic Phil sits on the couch in front of the tv wearing black lounge pants and a navy blue t-shirt with a hole in the neckline flipping mindlessly through the channels. His mom walks up behind him from the kitchen in a clear state of confusion.

"Phil," she begins slowly, "I thought you said you have a date tonight."

He nods mutely and continues pressing the 'down' arrow without any further acknowledgment of her presence. She furrows her brow and steps in between his blank stare and the screen. Still, he keeps hitting the button without even realizing that her body is effectively blocking the signal.

"Phil?" she asks waving a hand in front of his face.

Blinking once before glancing up at her through his lashes, he mutters, "Huh?"

She laughs softly. "You have a date?" she asks nodding her head hoping to encourage some kind of response.

"Yes," he answers dully.

With a frown she asks in typical motherly fashion, "Are you ok, honey?"

He raises his eyebrows the slightest bit silently questioning her concern.

Chuckling lightly, she explains, "With the way you've been ecstatically jumping around here the past week, I assumed you'd be more.." she says waving her hands in the air, "excited now that your date's only a few hours away."

Off his non reaction, she adds with extra emphasis and a smile, "Your date with Keely."

Slowly, he cuts his eyes side to side before returning his gaze to its previous spot. He sighs heavily and tosses the remote onto the cushion next to him. Crossing his arms over his chest, he tilts his head and pleads, "Can you pinch me?"

A bit caught off guard by that request, his mom shakes her head and replies, "Excuse me?"

Phil blows out a puff of air. "You know those butterflies people feel before doing something extremely nerve-racking?"

She nods knowingly. "I see," she begins but is interrupted by her son.

"No, no, no," he says shaking his head furiously before holding up his hand. "I don't think you do see."

Raising her eyebrows, she asks, "Oh?"

"Those anxiety-induced butterflies in my stomach making me feel nauseous?" he says with a wince. "Not an issue," he explains dryly as his face drops, "at least not since the heavily oppressive 30-ton anvil took up residence in my gut."

A small laugh escapes her before she can stop it at the back of her throat. "I'm sorry, honey, I don't mean to belittle your obvious.." she trails off unable to find the right word to describe his current state without further offending him.

Slowly rising to his feet, Phil glances at his mom and mumbles, "Nevermind." He moves away from the couch and looks back at her solemnly. "I'll wake _myself_ up from the unbelievable."

His mom tries desperately to feel sympathetic at the sight of her son dragging himself up the stairs, but she can't quite hide her smile.

Miraculously, within the last three hours, Phil has managed to get himself to Keely's house with even a few minutes to spare. Stepping up onto the porch, he gives himself a final once-over. After mentally checking off the freshly pressed khaki pants and the crisp hunter green collar shirt tucked neatly into them, he can't help but feel like he's going to a park ranger convention rather than on a date with the only girl he's ever met that can instill within him simultaneously ever single possible human emotion.

After briefly contemplating dashing back home to change into something more impressive, he reluctantly settles on going with the wildlife officer look hoping maybe she won't notice. But, it's Keely, of course she'll notice what he's wearing. Aliens could invade during dessert and she'd still be wondering why the heck he chose this particular attire. Unable to do anything about that now, he shrugs and gingerly fingers his, perhaps slightly over-gelled, hair.

However, he refuses to let one more insignificant detail ruin the night, but as he knocks on the wooden door, he mentally curses himself for the much too casual shoes.

The door swings open and a smiling face greets him on the other side. "Hello, Phil."

He opens his mouth to speak, but his vision blurs as, with lightning speed, Keely jumps in front of her mother, grabs the door knob, and closes the door firmly behind her. Struggling to maintain his balance after an insistent arm pushed him backwards towards the steps, Phil stares wide-eyed at his date standing before him with her head tilted back and her eyes closed.

"All right," she breathes out in relief and then straightens her shoulders and sets her eyes upon the perplexed boy trying to process what has just happened here. "You ok?" she asks as if everything is perfectly normal.

"Um..."

Keely shoulders her purse and asks in her patented perky way, "Ready to go?"

She eagerly strides off the porch and halfway down the walkway until she stops and turns back to him where he remains staring at the spot she occupied just seconds ago. "Phil," she says with a hint of impatience.

He gradually turns to face her. She raises her eyebrows. "Well?"

Shaking his head in hopes that the movement will trigger his feet to propel him forward, Phil frowns at her desire to so hastily escape her mother.

"Hey," Keely says cocking her head and drawing him from his thoughts, "you kinda look like a park ranger." She shrugs. "Without the hat of course."

As he glances up at the heavens with a silent prayer for something large to fall and smash him deep into the ground, Phil tries to ignore the uncomfortable heat rising under the collar of his shirt and the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Her light laughter does nothing to quell the physical reactions occurring in his body against his will. He dejectedly hangs his head to look at his unfortunate choice of footwear. The reminder only makes him feel more ridiculous.

During his self-flagelation, Keely has moved to stand below him at the bottom of the steps. He cautiously dares a glance at her and is surprised to find her smiling up at him.

"A very _cute_ park ranger," she says sincerely.

Feeling a bit better about himself, Phil smiles half-heartedly and replies with an equally matched, "Thanks."

She nods her head and Phil notices how her soft curls bounce with the movement, though it's not something he's never seen before, but it is curiously fascinating to him at the moment. Allowing his eyes to travel further down, he also notices the way her transparent soft pink blouse attractively clings to her skin, and how the white tanktop underneath the gossamer material graces her lower on the chest than usual, and the way the small pearl-like embellishments centered on the neckline shimmer in the fading sunlight.

The amount of attention given to her doesn't go unnoticed by Keely, and the tingle creeping up her spine doesn't either. At the slight movement from her shiver, Phil breaks his gaze and looks into her eyes.

She smiles shyly as he softly clears his throat and steps down off the porch. Gentlemanly offering her his arm, he asks politely, "Shall we be on our way, my lady?"

Graciously accepting his invitation, she chuckles at the reference to what has become their latest private joke. As they walk onto the sidewalk, Phil glances over at her and offers her a humble apology.

"Sorry about the lack of transportation," he says with a bit of shame in his soft voice.

Keely shakes her head. "I'm not," she says glancing up at the increasingly darkening sky before turning her head to face him. "It's a beautiful night for a stroll."

He laughs lightly and looks down the street ahead of them. "I suppose," he agrees before shrugging his shoulders. "But I still wish I could have picked you up in a car," he admits cutting his eyes over at her. "You know, like a regular 16-year-old guy does."

Gently leaning into his side, Keely quickly dismisses that notion. "Phil," she says in a tone that commands his attention, "you're not a regular 16-year-old guy..."

As his confidence level begins to plummet rapidly, she adds off the look in his eyes, "And that's just one of the many reasons I'm perfectly happy to be _walking_ to dinner with _you_ instead of riding in a car to dinner with some other guy."

A smile tugs at his lips as his eyes shine brightly in the soft glow of dusk. She looks ahead of them. "Besides, if you ask me.." she says with a playful gleam in her eyes, "you're actually a pretty typical guy."

Phil furrows his brow. "What do you mean?"

She rolls her eyes. "Well, if you'd have let me drive us like I suggested the other day..."

He immediately shakes his head. "Nope, no way."

"And why not?" she asks defensively. "'Cause the girl can't drive the guy to their date?"

"You know why not," he replies glancing over at her with a nod of his head.

Looking down at her feet, she mumbles under her breath, "There's nothing wrong with my driving."

Phil replies with a doubtful expression, "When you can back out of the driveway without hitting the trashcan, circle the block without running a single stop sign, park without having to be reminded it's the 'P', and actually use your mirrors without checking your lipstick every time.."

He breathes out a sigh. "Then we'll discuss it." After a beat, he adds curiously, "How'd you swing an 'A' in that summer driving course anyway?"

Keely ignores him and rolls her eyes. "This coming from Mr. Don't-even-have-a-license-and-can't-even-get-one," she mutters sarcastically as she looks at him.

He holds his free hand up in self-defense. "Hey, I'm from the future," he scoffs. "I don't have a license and can't get one because I was born in the next century."

He shrugs. "My parents won't fake any documents," he says before continuing in a deep masculine voice imitating his father, "because being able to drive around and contribute to the air pollution that future generations will have to contend with is not important enough to falsify identification records and risk exposure." He adds in his own voice with a smirk, "So ha."

"Lame excuse," she teases.

They walk silently along for several minutes content to enjoy each other's company.

Suddenly a thought occurs to Phil as he casts a sideways glance her direction. "So, were you afraid your mom might embarrass you?"

Keely nods. "Absolutely terrified."

He chuckles as they finally step onto the street where their destination lies. "Almost there," he says gesturing with a nod up ahead of them.

Noticing the sign hanging above the restaurant entrance, Keely's excitement begins to build. Phil observes the subtle change in her as she bites down on her lip and gently digs her fingers into the flesh of his arm. He leans his head close to her ear.

"You agree with my choice, I presume," he says in a low voice while a smile plays on his lips.

Nodding her head enthusiastically, she suppresses a girly squeal and turns to look into his eyes. "It's so adult-like," she says in awe.

Phil laughs softly. "Well, I thought Pizza Playhouse might kill the mood a bit," he says half-jokingly.

Keely nods firmly. "Good thinkin'."

Laughing lightly, they step up to the glass door to find the elegant eatery shrouded in darkness. Their faces fall at the same time as their eyes rest upon the handwritten sign hanging in front of them.

Phil scoffs and rolls his eyes. "A 'small kitchen fire'," he says gesturing to the sign with his hand. "That's just great."

Keely frowns in disappointment, but tries to lighten the atmosphere and salvage the night. "It's cool, Phil," she offers with a shake of her head.

He sighs heavily and turns away from the sign mocking him with its message. "I'm sorry, Keel," he says stuffing his hands into his pockets and looking at a crack in the sidewalk. "I wanted tonight to be special," he says dejectedly.

She shoves her own somberness aside and places her hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault, Phil," she says firmly.

"But it's so.." he says looking at her with a furrow of his brow as he tries to find the right description for the unfortunate turn of events. "Predictable," he says with disgust.

Keely smiles in spite of his sullen expression as she shakes her head. "Predictable? What do you mean?"

Phil rolls his eyes and looks out onto the street as a couple of cars pass by oblivious to the fact that his first date with the most special and beautiful girl in Pickford has been obliterated beyond repair by something as trivial as a 'small kitchen fire.' On second thought, maybe the fire thing's not so trivial but still the only thing keeping him from dining in a romantic setting with a very impressed and appreciative Keely.

She sighs at his stubborness and looks across the street to the various buildings lining the sidewalk. "We'll just go somewhere else," she says simply.

But Phil isn't willing to settle for less than the perfect evening, and since the chances of that happening have all ready been crushed, he's even less willing to 'just go somewhere else.' Throwing his hands up in air, he turns to her.

"Forget it," he says hopelessly.

Keely raises her eyebrows at him. "Phil," she says giving him a tiny shove, "don't be ridiculous." She tries to grab his hand, but he evades her grasp.

"This is a sign," he says under his breath glancing up at the night sky.

Upon hearing that, Keely frowns and asks quietly, "A sign that this is a mistake?"

He quickly turns to look into her face as a twinge of sadness shines in her eyes. "No, Keel, that's not what I meant."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she scoffs. "Well, it sure sounded that way."

"I just meant that everything about this whole _day_ has been wrong," he says waving his hands in the air. Off her offended expression, he adds, "Because not a single thing has gone right."

She gazes at him expectantly awaiting further explanation. He expels a breath and rubs the back of his neck where the muscles have stiffened due to his stress before looking back at her.

"What I mean is that nothing has gone quite the way I'd envisioned."

Able to understand that, Keely nods her head and dips her chin. Phil stares at her for a moment before turning his gaze back to the busy street. On the sidewalk parallel to them, a teenage guy holding a girl's hand and whispering into her ear comes into his view. He watches them until they disappear through a door to an arcade; the girl giggling happily amused by whatever the guy had said to her. He can't help but feel envy at the sight of them as they strolled the sidewalk in a carefree way not needing any over-priced restaurants or the perfect ensemble to make the night special. They only seemed to need each other, and that suddenly becomes very clear to him as he turns to gaze upon the stunning, slightly discouraged, beauty standing before him.

"Places like this are usually highly overrated anyway," he says with a smile.

Lifting her head to meet his playful expression, she rolls her eyes and replies, "Totally."

He laughs softly and nods up the street. "Pizza Playhouse?"

She groans at the sight of the flashing strobe lights adorning the brightly lit sign indicating where the fun is sure to be had. She can hear the faint sounds of children screaming in delight from here. She shakes her head in the negative.

He shrugs. "Well, you got to eat, don't you?"

"Actually," she says shyly lowering her head, "I don't think I could really properly digest anything after all the somersaults my stomach has performed today."

Phil raises his eyebrows in surprise to hear that she's apparently been handling the hours leading up to their 'big night' with a similar terrified apprehension. He's also a bit relieved.

"Good thing for this then," he says pointing back at the sign on the door before smiling at her teasingly. "Otherwise, I'd have wasted a fine meal and a considerable amount of green on you."

She closes her eyes and shakes her head as a small laugh escapes her. Phil adds with a slight grimace, "Not to mention how messy that would be."

Frowning in disgust at the mental image, Keely opens her eyes to look at him. "Well, you don't have to starve 'cause of me.." she says briefly placing her hand to his abdomen.

He winces. "I'm not really so hungry myself," he slowly admits with a sheepish shrug of his shoulders.

Keely laughs. "Wow, this isn't a sign," she says light-heartedly pointing at the restaurant. "It's a blessing."

Phil nods firmly while holding up a finger. "That's an excellent point."

"So..where does that leave us?" she asks shifting her weight from one foot to the other and back again.

"I don't know," he says honestly. "I didn't bring a backup plan."

Suddenly, Keely shakes her head and smiles. "You know what?" she asks tilting her head. Phil raises his eyebrows signaling her to continue. "We don't need to do anything at all."

He furrows his brow. "What do you mean?" he asks carefully while wondering where her latest thought might lead them considering how she manages to spontaneously dream up scenarios which begin in innocent fun but often end with him promising himself to never give into her whims again.

"People put way too much.." she trails off furrowing her brow, "something," she says with a shrug before continuing, "on the whole 'I'm-on-a-date-thing'," she finishes with a roll of her eyes before growing more serious. "I'm just happy to be here."

He raises his eyebrows in surprise. She adds with a light finger-jab at his chest and a smile, "With you."

Phil desperately tries to keep the natural reaction of his body under such circumstances from showing on his face, but the heat radiating on his skin is all ready glowing a nice shade of red.

Keely chuckles and gently pushes him in a forward motion. "Let's take the long way home," she says cutting her eyes over athim.

He glances at her suspiciously, but he doesn't utter a word of objection to that suggestion.

A short distance down the sidewalk, Keely shivers slightly at his side. "Cold?" he asks softly.

She replies meekly as she looks down at what was supposed to be the perfect outfit but lacks one minor, yet practical, piece, "I should've brought a jacket." She frowns. "But nothing I own goes with this," she says gesturing at her clothing with a sweep of her hand.

Phil suppresses a chuckle at her seriousness. He learned a while ago that casually poking fun at her intense need to be fashionable at all times carries some rather dire consequences. A small shop nearby catches his attention as he abruptly pulls her to a halt in front of the display window.

"Imagine that," he says under his breath as he stares at the mannequins wearing different styles of lightweight jackets. He turns his head to look at her with a smile. "What do you say?" he asks nodding at the door.

Keely scoffs lightly. "What? You're gonna buy me a jacket?"

He simply nods without hesitation. She shakes her head. "While I appreciate the offer," she says with a smile, "it's not necessary." She shrugs. "So we won't take the long way home then," she says rubbing her bare arms. "I'll be fine."

"No, we are _definitely_ taking the long way home," he says seriously as he pulls her into the shop. Her first instinct was to protest, but the adorable way he insisted on spending extra time with her tugs at her heart and firmly stomps down any such notion.

After a few minutes of browsing the racks for a suitable purchase, they step back onto the sidewalk. Keely runs her fingers down the length of her arm admiring the warmth her new demin blazer provides. She looks at him with a grin and a gleam in her eyes. "Cool."

He rolls his eyes playfully as they start their journey towards home. Stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets, Keely teases, "Hey, if I happen to forget my shoes next time--"

Phil snorts. "I don't think so." She frowns, and he can't resist the cute pout on her lips. "Ok.." he sighs as she glances up through her lashes hopefully. "Maybe one pair." She jumps slightly in excitement, but he quickly adds sternly, "But that's it."

She mouths a silent 'yes' and proudly lifts her chin at having gotten her way with him for the millionth time. Phil has to turn his head to hide the smile threatening to break out on his face, but a light touch at his hand draws his attention back to the girl beside him. He glances down pleasantly surprised at the sight of her fingers lacing with his own. He sneaks a peek at her tranquil face to find her watching the stars shining brightly overhead.

Relishing the feel of his warm hand in hers, Keely offers the heavens a quiet thanks for gracing her with this boy at her side. Since he became her friend, she's forgotten the girl who was more worried about being popular than hurting someone's feelings. Often she wonders exactly where she would be if Phil had never come into her life. She knows without a doubt she wouldn't be nearly this happy. And she doesn't long for the past at all; instead, she's more than content to enjoy the present. But one thing does stay in the back of her mind; something that constantly threatens her contentment. And that's why she doesn't think about the future.

A nudge at her side and a soft voice draws her back to reality. "This isn't so bad, is it?" he asks thinking back to the way he'd overreacted earlier at what he too quickly had labeled a complete failure for their first try at the dating game.

She smiles. "This is better than I could've ever imagined," she admits honestly.

They share a laugh at the absurd notion that them just being together could be anything other than great no matter what the circumstances. Taking a leisurely route through the softly illuminated park, they talk about the night and confess how foolishly they'd acted throughout the day. After nearly an hour of stalling as much as possible by sitting on benches and even pretending to be interested in some moss growing on the 'wrong' side of the tree, Phil reluctantly walks her up to her front door.

"Thanks, Mom," Keely sighs glancing up at the soft yellow porch light.

Phil smiles. "She's just safety conscious."

"No, she's just very nosy," Keely replies with a shake of her head.

"Well," Phil says with a nervous chuckle, "that's crazy." He shrugs uncomfortably. "I mean, what could possibly pique her curiosity about what we're doing out here," he scoffs trying to hide his increasing anxiety. Of all the things he futilely tried to perfect in his mind before their date began, he conveniently left out the inevitable front door scene. Hopefully, the natural thing to do will present itself.

Feeling equally as nervous, Keely averts her eyes to the first thing she can find that's not anywhere near the boy standing in front of her with this hands shoved into his pockets rocking on his heels.

"So.." he begins slowly waiting for her to look at him again. When she finally does, he continues, "I guess I'll see you uh..."

Keely offers, "Tomorrow?"

He nods. "That'll work."

It's her turn to nod. "Cool."

They gaze at each other until the awkwardness becomes too much for them to withstand as they both emit a shy laugh at the same time.

Phil clears his throat and smiles. "Well, goodnight then."

Keely returns the gesture. "Goodnight, Phil." She adds after a beat, "I had a good time."

He nods. "Me too."

She digs her key out of her purse and sticks it into the lock before turning back to him. "Bye," she says through her smile.

"Bye," he replies softly as their gazes linger momentarily before she quietly slips into the house and closes the door.

For a few seconds, Phil keeps his stare fixed on the varnished wood reflecting the glow from the nightlight as the night's events replay in his mind.

On the other side of the door, Keely leans back againstit breathing out a light sigh as a smile plays on her lips while her own mind recalls their first official date, which surprisingly, despite a minor change in plans, was easily the best date of her life. Of course, she doesn't have much to compare it to, but the reason for her happiness is glaringly obvious and doesn't have anything to do with the actual date itself.

Phil slowly makes his way off the porch and onto the sidewalk leading to his house. He admits the night was less than perfect, but perhaps he'd expected too much in the first place. And even though the night didn't scream 'date,' the light feeling in the vicinity of his heart is the only proof he needs that what he and Keely just experienced was definitely more than a casual, friendly outing.

And as Keely carefully heads upstairs so as to not wake her mother, even though she assumes who is only just now getting to bed, she too thinks of how the night might have appeared to the casual observer as nothing more than good friendship. But the warmth within her says otherwise.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, now you guys are just making fun of me...And yes, to the person who asked, that was where I got the inspiration. Thanks for reviewing!

Chapter 3

A resounding boom followed by a few metal-to-concrete clanks sounds from the garage effectively interrupting the conversation between mother and son currently being held in the kitchen. Leaning against the counter, Phil immediately halts his enthusiastically animated narration.

He raises his eyebrow at her, but she keeps smiling and waves him off. "Everything's fine," she says reassuringly.

A bit hesitant to agree initially, Phil eventually shakes it off and opens his mouth to continue his story, but he quickly frowns as a faint acrid odor invades his nostrils. "Do you smell smoke?" he asks with a hint of worry in his voice.

But his mom doesn't appear concerned in the least bit as she shrugs her shoulders and eagerly encourages him with a wave of her hand to get back to telling her about his date with Keely. "Your father has everything under control," she says confidently.

Though a tad reluctant to believe that, Phil shrugs and sets his glass of water down on the counter top. He opens his mouth to speak again only to be interrupted by the sound of his father's strained voice from outside immediately following another bang.

"I'm ok!"

Phil's mom nods. "Don't worry, honey," she says off his less than convinced expression before folding her hands on the table and leaning forward anxiously awaiting to hear the outcome of his date.

But that's the last thing on his mind right now. He furrows his brow as a thought occurs to him. "Dad's really been getting after it in there lately," he says with the smallest amount of disappointment in his voice, which his mom fails to pick up on despite her eerily, abnormal ability to be very receptive to such subtleness.

His mom simply nods. "Yes, he has."

Phil glances down at the floor wondering if his dad's sudden shift from virtual juice bars and the store means as much as his mind is leading him to believe. At the same time, he's confused about the mix of emotions he feels regarding that. But before he can ponder it any further, his mom's voice draws his attention back to a subject in which he is absolutely sure of the emotion it arouses.

"So what did you two do instead?" she asks nearly on the verge of dying from the suspense.

Smiling to himself, Phil's mind is filled with the images of Keely proudly displaying her new jacket in the little shop, excitedly tugging on his hand in the park to follow a squirrel scampering about with puffy acorn-filled cheeks, and then shyly averting her eyes under the soft glow from her porch light.

"We walked home," he replies evenly. His mom's first reaction borders on disappointment in the lack of details and suspicion to the simplicity of his answer, but she then smiles and nods her head.

"You and Keely ended up having a nice time after all," she states to highlight the fact that her son has a clear disposition to sometimes focus too much on life's insignificant mischances rather than the big picture.

Phil nods happily. "Yep."

At that moment, his sister enters the kitchen with a steadfast determination as she makes a beeline to the cabinets. Phil and his mom exchange curious glances as she begins grabbing seemingly random food items and piling them into her arms until the load is almost more than she can bear. Without a word, she heads back in the direction from which she came unaware of the two members of her family watching her closely.

Just as she is about to disappear around the corner, her mom calls out, "Pim?"

Turning around with a straight face, she replies in slight irritation, "Yes, Mother?"

Her mom raises one eyebrow in warning at her tone. Pim quickly backtracks. "Yes?" she asks sweetly.

"Are you hungry?" her mom asks looking at the various packages in her daughter's arms.

Pim shakes her head. "Project." Ignoring the confusion of her mother, she adds looking at Phil, "_Unfortunately_, I overheard on my way in," she says with a roll of her eyes, "that you and blondie had a 'nice time'."

Phil raises his eyebrow and slowly replies, "Right..."

With disinterest in her voice, she asks, "So you two finally got a clue, eh?"

"Pim," her mom says lowering her chin. "I don't want you teasing Phil about this."

She rolls her eyes and sighs. "Ok.." she says looking back at her brother and plastering on a fake smile. "You mean you finally courted that ball of sunshine?" she asks in sarcastic pep.

Phil raises his eyebrow clearly unimpressed with her attempt to care. She bats her lashes. "Aww..." She nods her head firmly. "Well, congrats, my dear brother."

Her mom shakes her head signaling that she's over doing things just a bit. Taking the hint, she turns away from them as she emits a cough followed by a few gagging noises. Her mom furrows her brow and asks with concern, "Sweetie, are you ok?"

Pim turns back to them briefly as she uses her free hand to pat her chest. Clearing her throat, she explains with a tight smile, "Sorry, dry heaves." As she disappears from their sight, Phil rolls his eyes and his mom frowns.

"Deep down she really does care," she offers sympathetically.

"Uh huh," Phil replies before pushing off the counter and heading into the living room.

As he moves to the couch prepared to settle onto the cushions and indulge in a little light reading while he rather impatiently waits for a certain somebody to grace his presence, a semi-musical series of knocks sounds at the door. He drops his book back onto the coffee table as a wide grin forms on his lips. With a few quick strides, he reaches the door and eagerly swings it open to reveal a very welcome sight on the other side.

"Hey," he greets her happily.

Instantly, he finds his arms full of Keely, but to his disappointment, she quickly jumps back from him. "Hey to you," she says with a bright smile. "Mmm," she says leaning back into him slightly and giving him a sniff. "You smell like fresh air and sunshine," she says inhaling his scent again.

Phil raises his eyebrow at the sight of her smelling him so vigorously. She tilts her head to the side, "New detergent?"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "_Actual_ fresh air and sunshine." He adds off her confused look, "Mom's latest kick." He shrugs. "She likes to string up our laundry in the backyard to dry."

Keely stifles a laugh. "You're joking, right?"

Phil replies dryly, "No, just this morning I awoke to the sound of my shorts flappin' in the breeze."

This time the laugh escapes her, but she quickly regains her composure in light of his somber expression. "Is it really that bad?" she asks at the sight of his small frown.

He shakes his head. "No, actually, I was just wondering what the hug was for," he admits with a shrug.

Keely furrows her brow. "I always hug you."

Phil shakes his head and smiles. "Never mind, come on in."

But Keely doesn't take the invitation; instead, she puts a hand on her hip and scoffs. "I had a feeling this would happen."

"What this?" he asks furrowing his brow.

"_This _we're gonna be weird _this_," she says rolling her eyes.

Phil raises his eyebrow. "Weird?"

Keely scoffs. "Yeah, like the hug," she explains gesturing at him with her hand. "If I had done that last weekend," she frowns, "which I _did_ come to think of it," she shrugs, "anyway, you didn't ask why I did it," she finishes shaking her head with a sigh. "You just accepted it and warmly returned it like all the other dozens of hugs I've given you."

"Oh," Phil begins a little unsure of how to approach her when she rambles like that, "So...?"

She dramatically rolls her eyes and lifts her arms in the air, "Sooo..why suddenly does a hug have to mean something?"

Phil furrows his brow. "I didn't say it meant something."

Keely's face drops as she asks, "It didn't mean anything to you?"

He shakes his head. "No." But he quickly corrects himself off her horrified expression, "I mean, yes." She frowns. He carefully adds, "Er..no?" She narrows her eyes at him and as a sheen of sweat threatens to break out on his skin, he sighs in confusion. "Forget it, it was just a question."

"It's not just a question, Phil," she seethes. "It meant something."

"The question or the hug?" he asks slowly.

She stomps her foot in irritation. "Both! Pay attention!" she practically shouts causing him to jump slightly.

"I don't even know what we're talking about anymore," he says quickly in self-defense. He adds, "And if it meant something then why did you ask if it meant something?"

"Huh?" Keely responds with a slight shake of her head and a blank expression.

Phil holds up his hands and offers, "Let's start over, all right?" She seems to be willing to do that so he adds with a smile, "Good afternoon, Keely."

"Hello, Phil," she replies pleasantly.

He nods and expels a relieved breath. "All right, that's easy, huh?"

Keely frowns suddenly. "Are we friends?" she asks quietly.

Ignoring the fact that the question dropped right out of the clear blue sky, he tries his best to answer it, basically, in whatever way she would prefer to hear. "Um.." he says briefly glancing up in thought before setting his eyes back on her expectant face. "Yes," he says sounding more as if he's asking her to confirm that rather than asserting it for himself.

Sighing heavily, Keely explains, "Last night we were on a date, right?" He nods mutely. She continues, "Well, friends don't date each other."

"Are we dating?" he asks curiously. She just stares at him. He expands on that question. "As in, you know, last night will become a regular thing for us?"

"Do you want it to be?" she asks carefully.

Phil smiles definitely sure of the answer to that question. "Yeah, I do."

Keely's face lights up upon hearing the exact words she'd hoped for. "Then, we're dating." She frowns again. "Are we dating exclusively?"

"That would make me your boyfriend?" he asks just for the sake of not leaving any room for interpretation.

Keely quickly exclaims with a squeal, "You just said boyfriend!"

Phil raises his eyebrows. She shakes her head and replies in a small voice, "Sorry." She sighs and jumps back on track. "Well, that's usually how it works," she says with a subtle roll of her eyes. "At least in this century, anyway," she adds with a smile.

Phil chuckles softly. "Then, yeah, we're exclusive." He shrugs. "I mean, if that's what you want."

"I want," Keely replies without hesitation.

"Cool."

"Cool."

As they stand on opposite sides of the threshold of the front door, a silence hangs over them slowly increasing the level of discomfort. Phil, out of habit in these particular situations, clears his throat and glances distractedly about the porch, while Keely worries her lip and studies the welcome mat at her feet.

Realizing that they've verbalized, essentially, their commitment to each other, Phil mentally sighs in relief at having jumped that hurdle with..relative.. ease. But he's also a bit disheartened by the idea that they actually had to voice their official status; he just always kind of thought that after admitting their feelings to each other, they would naturally fall into rhythm. Perhaps, his expectations were more than a tad rooted in romantic overtures than in the reality of relationships. And that mistake could spring from his nearly nonexistent experience in this area.

Staring at the coarse fibers of the mat, Keely sighs her own relief; however, the awkwardness closing in on them is merely substituting one burden for another. But despite the tension between her and the equally disturbed boy before her, her elation floods throughout her body with each contraction of her heart.

"It's getting weird again."

Phil shakes his head. "Nah, it's just new." He adds after a beat, "We'll adjust."

"Well," Keely says cheerfully, "we'll start workin' on that tomorrow."

Furrowing his brow, Phil asks with a hint of disdain, "You're leaving?"

She sighs. "I know that hanging out today was kinda my idea, but I'd forgotten about the plans I'd all ready made with Via," she admits meekly with a shrug. Off his pout, she adds with a smile, "What with all the distraction last night."

Phil's mood brightens a bit with the knowledge that their time together had left a noteworthy impression on her. "So, shopping?" he asks with a smirk despite being fully aware of the answer to that redundant question.

Keely nods eagerly at the mention of the activity. Phil shakes his head at the appearance of the slightly maniacal gleam in her eyes. Tilting her head, she offers, "You can come."

He chuckles at the absurdity of the invitation, though, he feels very appreciative of her willingness to include him. "That's ok."

"You sure?" Keely asks again wanting to be thoroughly sure she's made that willingness clear.

Phil shrugs. "I'd just be in the way." He scoffs. "I mean, the lone male on the hunt for those hard-to-find but must-have shoes..."

Keely swats at his shoulder playfully. "Hey," she says lightheartedly while pointing a finger at his chest, "be nice."

"Ok, ok," he concedes with a light laugh. "Shop 'til you drop."

She smirks. "I fully plan on it." She adds seriously, "But you really wouldn't be in the way, you know that right?"

Nodding his head, he opens his mouth to speak, but surprisingly, he finds his arms full of Keely yet again. And to his delight, this hug lasts long enough for him to wrap his arms around her waist and indulge himself in the close proximity, which to his wonderment leaves him feeling as if a need he wasn't aware of has just been met. However, as she breathes out a warm, soft breath into the crook of his neck, he realizes that need is actually a desperate craving.

Wishing she could remain in his arms longer, Keely closes her eyes and regretfully and slowly pulls back to look into his smiling face. His apparent approval of the embrace causes her to tremble faintly. Fortunately, he doesn't seem to notice.

"That's a thank-you hug," she says with a smile. "In case you were wondering." He nods. "And this," she says quickly pulling him to her again, "is because I can hug you anytime I want and for no reason at all if I so choose, " she says sternly.

Not about to argue with that, Phil nods his head firmly. "Got it."

She smiles her satisfaction. "See ya later, Phil."

"See ya."

With a wave she bounds down the steps and onwards to her next destination. Phil watches her until he can no longer see the brilliant shine of her blonde hair in the afternoon sun.

Within minutes she's lightly skipping up the walkway to her own front door, but she abruptly stops midway at the sight of Via smirking at her.

"Were you skipping?"

Keely replies nonchalantly, "Of course not."

Via eyes her skeptically for a moment before changing the subject. "I'm early, but I thought we could get a head start." She adds with a smile, "Unless you need a moment to come down off that cloud."

Choosing to ignore her implication and shaking her head at the nonsensical notion, Keely replies eagerly, "Head start it is." She makes her way towards the house. "Just lemme get my purse."

"Keely," Via says as she passes by. Keely turns around to face her friend. "Yeah?"

The unusual bright shine in her eyes coupled with the fact that she definitely was skipping leads Via to believe that her encounter with Phil must have been a good one. Knowing how confused and anxious Keely was about the status of her budding relationship with him due to the post-date phone call Via had received as requested, she can't help but greedily pry her fingers into the topic.

"You're mother told me you were visiting Phil," she explains. Keely needlessly confirms that by nodding her head. Via continues, "I assume you're no longer in doubt of where you two stand."

Keely tries to hide her absolute thrill as she casually replies, "Yes."

But her attempt at cover is not enough to fool her very observant friend. "I'm happy for you, Keely," Via says sincerely before laughing lightly. "It was such a long time coming."

She's left with no choice but to agree. "A _long_ time."

Via smiles and shoos her towards the house. "Now get that purse." Keely laughs and jogs up the steps, but before she can open the door, Via adds in a light tone, "I just know you two will be together forever."

_Forever_. The word echoes in her head mockingly. As an ill feeling suddenly overcomes her, she closes her eyes and holds her breath. Her mind screams at her that forever is elusive; forever is unattainable. If they were a perfectly normal couple, forever would be a given. The incredible surge of emotion she feels every time she's near him tells her that. But a single detail keeps that normality far from their grasp.

Slowing expelling her breath and opening her eyes to stare at the door, she fights against the dizziness and wins out for the moment..at least. Casting a quick glance over her shoulder at Via, she offers her the most convincing smile she can muster. Via regards her curiously for a beat. The ever-observant brunette wonders why Keely's immediate reaction opposed that of which she had expected. But she dismisses the thoughts as soon as Keely appears to be fine.

"Be right back," she says trying to attach a perky tone to her equally as false smile.

She disappears through the doorway with a heaviness in her chest, but she refuses to let it dampen her spirits. Deciding to forget about it like she's done a hundred times since a certain brown-eyed boy first entered her heart, she puts her most positive attitude forward as she heads upstairs.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

While the late afternoon sun sinks lower in the crystal blue sky, two teenagers happily, and without shame, indulge in childish whims as they quicken their pace trying desperately to be crowned victor in their fifth race to see who can reach maximum altitude first.

"You're going down, Diffy," Keely warns with a laugh and a grunt as she pumps her legs faster to increase her height and speed.

Glancing over at her with her loose ponytail rising and falling in the wind created by her fierce swinging, Phil momentarily forgets his aim as his attention falls from his current activity to rest upon the giggling girl next to him. As his momentum falters, he shakes himself from his reverie and struggles to catch up.

Keely emits a squeal of delight as she looks back over her shoulder from her brief position high in the air at the sight of her guaranteed victory. "You're done for!" she calls out as they rush by each other.

Realizing how very true that is, Phil admits defeat by dragging his feet through the gravel to slow down as he swings back to the ground. "Yeah, yeah," he utters dejectedly.

Yelling out a childlike 'hooray' as she is lifted into the air as high as the swing will allow, Keely sticks her tongue out at him while letting her own feet drag the ground.

He scoffs as he comes to a stop. "Oh, that's mature."

She laughs deeply causing her body to shake. Phil smiles softly at her pure enjoyment. She finally swings to a gentle rest and sighs as she dreamily glances up at the endless blue.

"That was fun," she breathes out perfectly content with her fourth win.

Phil scoffs. "For _you_."

She shakes her head. "Oh, now don't be a sore loser, Phil."

Pulling on the chains of his swing, he frowns. "I think something's wrong with mine."

Keely nods. "Of course," she says seriously before continuing sarcastically, "Otherwise you obviously would have beat me." After a beat, she adds, "More than once."

He sticks his tongue, and she gasps in shock as she places a hand to her heart before asking dryly, "Who's mature now?"

Phil chuckles. "I'd say we're evenly matched as far as maturity goes," he says with smile. Glancing up at the top of the metal swing set, he adds, "Considering the fact that we just spent.." He looks down at his watch. "Thirty-eight minutes and twenty-one seconds trying to out-swing each other."

"Hmph." She rises to her feet and stuffs her hands into the pockets of her white hooded pullover as she scans the sparsely populated park. "Well, it's not like we would have spent the last thirty-eight minutes and twenty-whatever seconds doing anything else."

Regarding her with a raised eyebrow, Phil questions her particular tone of voice attached to that vague statement. "What do you mean by that?"

She shrugs without looking at him. "Just, you know..."

Phil stands up next to her. "Apparently I don't," he says in confusion.

Sighing, Keely turns her head to look at him. "Phil, I've been your girlfriend for 28 days!" she exclaims as her voice rises in pitch with each word.

"Really?" He rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Huh."

Keely rolls her eyes. "Ugh!"

He laughs. "Calm down, Keel," he says with a smile. "I'm kidding." He adds seriously, "I know we've been dating for _exactly_ 28 days." He shrugs. "How could I forget?" He smirks playfully. "I've got a _kitty cat _calendar hanging on the wall above my bed with big red 'X's' all over it where you've persistently kept track of our relationship's daily progression."

She scoffs. "Oh, right." She points an accusing finger at him. "And I guess an elf sneaked into your bedroom one night and crossed off that one day I was sick and couldn't come over."

Knowing he's been caught, Phil's face instantly drops. Keely smirks. "You were saying?"

He shakes his head. "No, _you_ were saying," he replies referring to what she started to say earlier before his remark had distracted her.

"Right," she says nodding her head firmly. "Practically a month together and no kiss." She frowns. "Not even an indication of one."

Phil raises his eyebrows in surprise. "That's what this is about?" he asks in disbelief. "A kiss?"

She shakes her head. "The _lack_ of a kiss." She pouts as she crosses her arms over her chest. "At least _I've_ given you a peck on the cheek."

He scoffs. "We weren't even dating then."

She raises her eyebrow. "That only proves my point."

"Which is?" he asks lifting his arms from his side.

Setting her weight on her right leg and placing her hand on her hip, she replies, "You have barely touched me since I became your girlfriend." She laughs bitterly. "We were more touchy-feely before we were expected to be touchy-feely."

Phil denies it. "That's ridiculous."

Keely narrows her eyes at him and stalks off towards the small red and yellow merry-go-round a few feet away. Phil sighs and slowly follows after her. She sits on the edge and cross her right leg over the left as she looks down at the circular dirt groove that's been worn into the grass by countless pairs of little sneakers over the years.

Phil gingerly sits down next to her on the other side of one of the handle bars. Keely keeps her gaze fixed on the ground. He looks off into the distance and thinks about how they haven't been overtly physical with each other. Aside from hand-holding and hugging, they've pretty much kept to a 'hands-off' policy. Though he's wanted to kiss her since before he can even remember, he's been hesitant to actually take that next step. Secretly, he wishes he would have had the nerve to act on his impulse to press his lips to hers as they stood awkwardly on her porch after their first date. That way, the pressure wouldn't have had the last 28 days to build into an expectation he's not sure if he can live up to.

Beginning to feel her own insecurities, though for a different reason, Keely wonders if perhaps Phil just doesn't have any burning desire _to_ kiss her. But if that's true, then why would he want to date her? If kissing her doesn't sound too appealing, then why not just continue to be best friends? Because without some kind of physical display of their attraction and affection towards each other, they're basically just the same old Phil and Keely. Of course, she _could_ initiate the kiss _herself_, but that would totally destroy her storybook fantasy.

Sighing heavily, Phil says, "You're right." He turns to look at her. "I guess...it's just hard to...make the transition."

Keely cuts her eyes in his direction. "Transitioning is not the problem, Phil. You being too big of a wimp to make a move on your used-to-be-best-friend-girlfriend is the problem."

He furrows his brow and replies slowly, "That's..actually..what I meant by transition."

"Oh."

"Keel," he begins turning his body to face her. "I've wanted to kiss you practically every second we've been together." He shrugs. "Even on occasion _before_ we became a couple."

A hopeful glimmer appears in her eyes while a smile tugs at the corner of her lips at his confession. He continues. "But..I don't really want to just kiss you for the sake of doing it." He adds with a sigh. "That way kind of seems like we're just trying to get it over with."

She nods mutely. He says honestly, "And while that sounds like a good idea and the easy way out...it's not what I want." He asks, "Do you?"

"No, it's not, " she answers quietly shaking her head.

Phil smiles hoping to lighten her mood. "The kiss will come, Keel," he says reassuringly. "And when it does," he says with a wink, "it'll be natural and perfect."

She smiles. "And not some overly dwelled upon, nervous thing?"

He chuckles. "Kissing shouldn't be like taking a test."

"Definitely not," she agrees firmly.

"So.." Phil begins glancing around nonchalantly. "Want to be immature for at least a few more minutes before we leave?"

Keely eyes him suspiciously. "What do you have in mind?"

He pats the paint-chipped surface of the merry-go-round with a grin on his face. "I'll push?" he offers hoping to entice her into partaking in the act.

She laughs lightly and scoots back far enough to draw her legs up off the ground. Securely gripping the bar, she smiles. "Do it."

After starting off slow, at her continuous taunting of 'faster, faster, we need another master,' Phil breaks out into a run to push the spinning wheel and the girl on it into a frenzy. When she screams out in delight and grabs onto the the bar with both hands, Phil, with his energy nearly spent, decides to let go of the bar and stand back to watch Keely in all her girlie thrill, but a pointy rock sticking up from the dirt, which he'd managed to steer around until now, connects with his foot and sends him tumbling uncontrollably onto the ground.

"Phil!" Keely exclaims peering over the edge of the merry-go-round as she spins by his prostrate form in the dirt. She quickly sets her tennis shoe on the ground to stop the whirling, jumps off, and circles around to his side just as he lifts his head from the dirt.

"Are you ok?" she breathes out.

Pushing himself up to his knees, he wipes the dirt from his mouth leaving a brown smudge across his cheek. Keely laughs only after judging him not to be hurt from his latest, and failed, test of coordination.

Dusting off the front of his dark grey long-sleeved shirt, but having no such success in clearing off the debris, he sighs and glances up at the face smiling down at him. "Why is falling on my face into the dirt such a hoot to you?" he asks dryly.

She shrugs. "'Cause you're so irresistible when you fall on your face into the dirt?" she offers trying to suppress her laughter.

Phil raises his eyebrow doubtfully as he looks down at himself. "Right, I'm so irresistible like this," he says sarcastically.

Keely rolls her eyes and offers him a hand. "Ok..I'll help you up." She adds with a smile. "Clumsy."

He narrows his eyes at her and quickly yanks down on her hand. Caught off guard by his sudden movement, Keely loses her balance and falls ungracefully to her knees into the dirt.

"Hey!" she exclaims. "What was that for?"

"I told you before.." he says scooping up a handful of the dirt. "I'm not clumsy."

"Ph--" Her protest is effectively cut off as he flings the dirt at her chest...at her previously spotlessly clean white hooded pullover covered chest.

He snorts a stifled laugh as she stares down in horrified shock at the sight of the offensive material clinging to her top. "I can't believe you just did that," she says without so much as a blinking of her eyes.

Phil smiles. "Don't worry, Keel." He places his hand over his heart. "I will personally scrub it clean until my fingers bleed."

"Oh, you bet you will," she seethes. He shrugs sheepishly. The innocent gesture pushes her over the edge as she suddenly lunges at him. Before he can react, the impact knocks him flat onto his back. As she hovers above him with her arms on either side of him, she smirks and says cheerfully, "Now, your backside will match the front."

After a beat, they both crack up into a fit of laughter and giggles. Looking down at him grinning at her with his dirt-smudged cheeks as he tries to regain his breath, Keely suddenly, beyond any conscious or voluntary effort, leans down to softly press her lips to his.

Though, only lasting for a few seconds, the contact is enough to startle both of them as an inaudible crackle of electricity dissipates into the surrounding air. Pulling her head away from his, Keely stares at him in awe of the numbness in her lips and the lopsided smile gracing his.

The sky has darkened to a shade of evening. A honk of a car horn sounds in the distance, and the soft chatter of children and parents rides the light breeze gently blowing by them causing the motionless merry-go-round to creak into life once again. But they are oblivious to it all; they are completely fixed on each other and nothing else.

Realizing that she's not breathing, Keely expels the air from her lungs in one fluid exhalation. The warm puff of air tickles the smooth skin of Phil's cheek. As he picks up on the faint smell of cherry flavored bubble gum on her sweet breath, he quietly sighs and blinks his eyes letting the lids remained closed for a brief moment before setting his gaze back on the beautiful face above him.

"See.." he whispers. "I told you it would come."

Keely smiles. "And it really _was_ natural and perfect."

Instinctively, Phil lifts his head from the ground to capture her lips with his in much the same manner she'd done just minutes ago except he fully intends to linger together a considerably longer amount of time. However, his intentions fall short of their goal as Keely's laughter, stifled by his own lips, untimely intervenes.

He lowers his head back down to the earth. "And you're...laughing," he states evenly as he looks up into the sky where the night's first few stars have appeared.

Keely shakes her head while continuing to choke on her giggles. "I'm sorry..." She closes her eyes and sighs trying to regain her composure before looking down at him again. "It's just..." she trails off mysteriously.

Phil frowns. "What?"

"You were kissing me," she says with a smile.

"So? _You_ just kissed _me_, what's the difference?" he asks a bit defensively.

Keely laughs at the way he's automatically switched to his self-defense mode. "Yeah, but _you're_ _Phil_."

He scoffs. "And _you're Keely_. So what?"

She shakes her head. "It's different."

"How?" he replies skeptically.

She laughs again. "'Cause you're Phil..." She adds with a poke in his ribs with her finger, "And you're kissing a girl."

"Huh?"

"I just never thought of you as a kisser before we started dating," she explains with a sigh.

Phil furrows his brow and starts to lean up. "I think it's time you got off of me now," he says with a smirk.

Keely rolls her eyes and rises to her feet as he does the same. She shrugs as he tries to dust off the seat of his jeans. "I just meant that you're supposed to be goofy, funny Phil like always."

Without looking at her, he mutters something unintelligible under his breath and continues swatting at his clothing. Keely continues in a lower than normal voice, "But now you're all very-kissable-pouty-lips-incredibly-attractive-dark-eyes-serious-face-Phil."

He raises his eyebrows. "That's some description," he says slowly as he steps forward and leans into her ready for another try, but to his dismay, the laughter returns. He frowns at the sound of it as something unfamiliar about it strikes him.

Keely catches his expression and quickly quiets herself and offers a small, "Sorry."

He shakes his head. "No, no, no, it's not that." He tilts his head as a smile begins to form. "It's just that laugh..." he says losing himself in his thoughts for a moment.

"What about it?" she asks curiously.

He grins. "It's very.. un-Keely-esque."

"Oh," she replies cheerfully, "it's my happiest of happy laugh."

Phil raises his eyebrow. "So..that means you're...and I've never heard it until now...so if you laughed your 'happiest of happy laugh' after we kissed then th--"

Keely interrupts with a smile and a roll of her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, Phil, and 2+24." She chuckles as his face drops and asks, "Do you always have to be Mr. Analytical _all the time_?"

"I'm not--"

She holds up a finger to his lips. "_No_.._ more_.._ words_, " she says slowly so that maybe he'll catch on and take the hint to shut up.

He raises his eyebrow silently questioning her actions. She smiles and softly demands, "Just kiss me."

More than happy to oblige, Phil leans forward as his arms loosely encircle her waist and whispers before closing the small gap between them, "I can do that."

After spending several minutes in the park, Phil walks Keely home and decides to walk around the block before heading to his own house. Slowly strolling along the sidewalk, he is perfectly content at the moment to feel the calm within himself from the starry, still night and the afterglow of such an amazing day, or rather 28 days, with the most wonderful person he's ever met in his entire life. Actually, the whole time he's been in Pickford has been amazing, but adding 'girlfriend' to the long list of things that Keely is to him has made the time all the more worthwhile.

A noise up ahead of him distracts him from his thoughts, and as he squints through the darkness, he sees a shadowy figure bending down next to a large square object. He quickens his pace a tad as his curiosity grows. As he moves closer, he realizes the figure is a girl and the object is a cardboard box. He glances at the driveway of the house she stands in front of and notices a moving van is parked there.

"Ugh!" The girl throws her hands up in the air and kicks at the box as Phil approaches.

"Need some help?" he offers politely.

She turns around to face him with a surprised expression. "Oh, I didn't know you were there," she breathes out holding a hand to her chest.

Immediately, Phil finds himself strangely drawn to the girl, but the reason is lost on him. As he intently studies her appearance under the dim glow from the streetlight, he observes how her straight dark brown hair rests just below her shoulders and frames her face. Her eyes are dark, but he can't distinguish a particular color in the low light. She appears to be an inch or two shorter than him, but she holds her head high and her shoulders back...Slowly, he mentally shakes himself and blinks.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he apologizes weakly as his brow furrows slightly.

She regards him curiously for a beat before asking, "Do you live in the neighborhood?"

The quality of her voice is intriguing to him, but he doesn't have the faintest idea why. He doesn't have a clue as to why he's feeling the way he does right now standing before this complete stranger. Yet, oddly enough, she doesn't strike him as unfamiliar at all...

He pushes the feeling aside and replies with as much normalcy as possible, "Yeah, I do." He points in the general direction of his house. "A street over."

She nods and holds out her hand. "I'm Sara."

Phil stares at the offering for a moment as if he's debating whether to touch her, but he politely returns the gesture. "I'm Phil."

She smiles brightly, and the stir in the pit of his stomach only adds to his confusion and curiosity about this girl.

Pointing down at the box, she sighs. "The movers abandoned us about an hour ago." She glances at the house. "Just me and my parents so things are slow to get done." She kicks at the box again in frustration. "Plus, most of my things, of course, have to weigh at least a ton."

Phil smiles. "Well, my offer still stands."

She nods appreciatively. "Thanks." She adds with a frown, "Though I hate to enlist the help of a guy I just met."

He shakes his head. "No problem," he says with a smile, "it's the neighborly thing to do."

She smiles that way again, and his body reacts in much the same manner as before. "I'll grab a side, you grab a side?"

"Sure," he replies.

As they lift the box in unison, she gestures with a nod of her head to the front porch. "We can set it up there and I'll get my dad to take it the rest of the way."

Carefully setting the box down, Sara straightens and looks at him. "I really appreciate it."

He stuffs his hands in his pockets and shrugs. "Anything else I can help you with?" he asks partly to be polite but also out of something else he can't quite put his finger on. And that bothers him.

"Uh, well," she says with a chuckle, "if you have absolutely nothing better to do with your time..." She points at the silver truck with its tailgate lowered and its bed filled with several more boxes similar to that of which they just carried. "There's plenty left."

Phil laughs softly and smiles. "I'm free."

The statement is simple and shouldn't be misconstrued in any way, but the implications are not as carefree as the words themselves. But Phil doesn't realize that what he's just spoken could possibly have any other meaning than what he intended for it to have. And he honestly didn't have anything better to do with his time..at the moment. And he's only trying to be helpful and friendly...

However, to the girl standing before him, the statement speaks volumes, and the more time she spends with this boy, the more interested she is to discover exactly what that means.


	5. Chapter 5

It has to be Sara because she is loosely based on an evil girl I had to personally contend with. Sorry about that. And I love your reviews; the effort you put into them to comment on practically every little thing... :) very cool with me. I'm lucky to have such a wonderful (and mature) reviewer. And I'll try not to be too lengthy...but I have a tendency to be exactly that.

To the person who was relieved to not have a back-to-the-future-conflict...that's actually going to be an issue...eventually...oops.

Thanks for reading and reviewing everybody!

Chapter 5

The class erupts into excited yelps and depressed groans as grades for the biggest project of the semester are finally revealed. Upon receiving his paper, Phil turns enthusiastically to his girlfriend sitting next to him and proudly displays his achievement by holding it up for her to see.

"Check it out, Keel," he says smiling in self-satisfaction.

Keely smiles even though she'd really like to take his paper and wipe that over-confident grin off his face. She squints at the sheet as if the large, boldly printed and encircled red 'A' is hard to notice. "Wow, congratulations, Phil."

He nods his head, happy with her recognition, and sets the paper on his desktop as he continues to admire his latest accomplishment. Keely rolls her eyes and mutters under her breath, "Like you'd score anything less."

"Did you say something, Keel?"

She glances over at him with a sweet smile. "Nope," she says with a shrug.

Phil furrows his brow for a brief second before catching a glimpse of the grade on the paper of a dark haired girl sitting in front of him. "Hey," he says with a smile causing her to turn around in her seat. "Awesome job, Sara."

She smiles and replies with a pride matching his own, "Thanks, Phil." Her eyes drop to the paper resting on his desk. "You too."

A slight blush colors his cheeks as he shyly averts his eyes. "Yeah, well..." Keely cuts her eyes over at him more than slightly unnerved by his reaction as he continues. "You really deserved that 'A+'. Your project was _amazing_."

Sara shakes her head. "I think yours was better," she says cutting her eyes over at their teacher still passing out papers. "He probably just didn't understand it," she says with a little smirk as she sets her gaze back on Phil.

He smiles appreciatively and ducks his head again much to Keely irritation, but her attention is quickly drawn away from the two of them as a paper is slapped against the slick surface of her desk.

"How'd you make out, Keel?" Phil asks curiously peering at her paper, which she suddenly snatches away from his prying eyes.

He raises his eyebrow, and she smiles awkwardly. "Oh, um, I got a..."

"A what?"

Sliding the paper under her notebook, she replies quietly without looking at him, "C+."

Phil bites down on his lip trying to hide his wince. "Oh, well, " he says with a shrug, "that's..."

"It's ok, Phil, you don't have to find a way to sugar coat it," she says as she folds her hands on her desk and stares down at them feeling strangely ashamed at her grade in light of the excellent marks he and Sara had received.

The unusual feeling disturbs her more than she'd like. She's well aware of her less than spectacular academic skills and having lower grades than Phil has never bothered her before, but, suddenly, the fact that she lacks in that department has become glaringly shameful to her. And though she'd rather not admit it, she's also aware of the nagging suspicion that the drop in confidence has more to do with the way her boyfriend praises and admires the brunette sitting in front of him more than anything else.

"Hey." Phil's soft voice sounds beside her as he leans into the aisle separating them. "I think you did great," he says with a sweet smile, which Keely can't help but positively respond to.

"Thanks," she replies quietly with a smile of her own.

He nods and leans back into his seat. Out of the corner of her eye, Keely notices how Sara has apparently been watching their exchange, and if the look in her dark green eyes is any indication, she wasn't amused with the way Phil had easily forgotten her in order to gently, and rightfully so, comfort his girlfriend. And that makes Keely smile.

That afternoon at home, Keely's casually flipping through a magazine as she lies on her bed on her stomach with her headphones on when Via enters her bedroom. She moves to the bed and waves a hand in front of Keely's face to make her presence known. Keely looks up from the glossy pages and smiles.

"Hey," she greets as she slips her headphones off and pushes herself up to a sitting position. "What's up?"

Via sits on the edge of her bed. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Keely furrows her brow at the serious tone in her friend's voice. "Ok.." she says slowly wondering what that something could be.

"You seemed upset today," she says pointedly.

Shrugging her shoulders, Keely asks, "What makes you think that?"

"Because being quiet and stand-offish is uncharacteristic for you."

A small laugh escapes her. "Quiet and stand-offish?"

Via sighs. "You were fine this morning and then again at lunch, but sometime between then and meeting you at your locker before sixth period," she says raising her eyebrow, "you weren't."

Keely shakes her head. "I wasn't upset. I was fine then too."

Via eyes her skeptically as she crosses her legs and waits for her to admit the truth. Like clockwork, within a few seconds under her friend's unrelenting stare, Keely sighs in defeat.

"Ok, maybe I was a little upset," she says looking down at her lap.

"What happened?" Via asks with concern.

Keely rolls her eyes. "It's stupid really."

"Not if it upset you," Via counters. "Did something happen between you and Phil?"

Shaking her head, Keely replies a firm, "No, it's not Phil." She frowns. "Well, maybe indirectly it is." Off Via's blank expression, she sighs and explains, "It all started when we got our grades back for a project..." She rolls her eyes. "Phil got an 'A' and I didn't."

Via furrows her brow. "But that happens quite often...why would it bother you?"

She lowers her head to stare at her fingernails thinking how she's in desperate need of a manicure. Her nails have never looked this grotesque before; when did she stop taking care of them? She shakes her head at the distracting thought and sets her eyes back on the girl patiently awaiting her reply.

She frowns as the answer to that question mocks her. "Because..." She sighs and looks at her window. "Because...Sara...got an 'A' too," she says quietly.

Via raises her eyebrows. "That's what upset you? Sara getting an 'A' on her project?"

Keely slowly shakes her head. "No," she says facing Via again, "Sara getting Phil's attention is what upset me." She adds under her breath, "Which seems to be happening a lot lately."

"Oh.." Via nods her head. "I see."

"Is that really lame?" Keely asks in a small voice.

Via shakes her head. "No, of course not." She takes a breath and asks carefully, "Are you jealous of Sara, Keely?"

She is, and she knows it. The fact lights up like a big neon sign every time she sees the girl, whether she's with Phil or not. For the last couple of weeks, Keely has been slowly becoming more and more jealous of the new girl that has managed to capture her boyfriend's interest. Of course, she believes that interest is purely rooted in Phil's tendency to befriend individuals with a similar aptitude for school-related things. Since he introduced her to Sara, she's been reminded several times of Sara's likable qualities, but until just recently, she hasn't thought of Phil's new friend as being anything more than a friendly addition to his life.

"Do you know that he hangs out with her outside of school?" she asks suddenly and ignoring Via's question.

Raising an eyebrow at her abruptness, Via replies, "I wasn't aware of that, no."

Keely nods. "Yeah, apparently they've really hit it off," she says with a hint of disappointment. "He goes on these 'walks' every now and then that _conveniently _take him right by her house," she says with a frown.

"Did he tell you that?" Via asks with an air of suspicion to her tone. As Keely averts her eyes, she smiles knowing the answer to that question and replies, "So, you've been spying on him."

Keely quickly interjects, "Well, I _am_ his girlfriend." She scoffs. "I think I have a right to know what he does with his time."

Via nods. "While I agree with that..somewhat..I have to say, in Phil's defense, that spying on your boyfriend doesn't reflect well on your relationship, Keely."

She sighs dejectedly. "I know, but it's not like I don't trust him.." She shrugs. "I just don't think he's being honest with me."

"Keely..that's exactly the same thing as not trusting him."

"Oh." She hangs her head.

Via furrows her brow. "Why did you have to spy on him in the first place? I mean, why didn't he just tell you what he was doing?"

Keely glances back up at her with a somber expression. "He did."

The crease in Via forehead deepens along with her confusion. "You said you had to spy on him to know what he was doing.."

Keely shakes her head. "He told me how he's been hanging out with her 'to just talk' about school, life, whatever," she says with a shrug, "but he left out the details." She sighs and picks at the frayed ends of one of her decorative pillows. "They sit on her curb," she quietly notes glancing up at Via through her lashes.

"He was completely upfront about it, and yet, you still felt you had to spy on him?" Via asks trying to comprehend the actions of her blonde friend.

"I guess I just wanted to see what the big mystery was," she admits with a hint of sadness in her quiet voice. She glances up at Via and adds, "He's always 'Sara's so _interesting_, Sara's so _funny_, Sara's so _smart_, Sara's so _easy to talk to'_..." She trails off thinking how that last one seems to bother her the most. How can someone he's only known for less than three weeks be so comfortable to him?

Via chuckles lightly. "I'm sure it's not as if he's trying to make you feel bad, Keely," she says sincerely. "It sounds like he's happy to have made a good friend." She adds encouragingly, "And you should be just as happy _for_ him."

"Hmph," Keely looks at her window again and mutters, "A good friend."

Via furrows her brow. "She doesn't hang with our group...why is that?" she asks curiously.

Shrugging her shoulders, Keely replies, "Beats me." She leans back against her small mountain of pillows. "I guess she doesn't like our group." She adds quietly, "Just Phil."

"Wait a minute," Via says holding up her hand. "You don't think she _likes_ Phil, do you?"

Glancing down at her hands resting on her chest, Keely answers softly, "I don't know."

Via shakes her head. "Well, it doesn't matter." Keely looks up at her with a raised eyebrow. She explains, "Phil _likes_ you so you haven't anything to worry about."

Keely replies casually, "I'm not worried." She scoffs. "Why would I be worried?"

Raising her eyebrows, Via replies, "So you're not jealous then?"

Keely sighs and swings her legs over the side of her bed and rises to her feet. "You know what?" she says lightly. "Let's not talk about Sara anymore," she says deciding that she's totally overreacting anyway. Plus, she refuses to turn into one of those jealous, 'don't-look-at-my-boyfriend-or-I'll-claw-your-eyes-out types. If Phil wants to have a friend that is a girl...so be it. Who is she to say he can't?

Via nods. "All right."

"Let's talk about strawberry ice cream," she says moving to the door before turning back to Via's confused expression, "while we eat it," she finishes with a grin.

Her friend is left with no choice but to comply with that request, and to not further question her about the avoidance of a particular issue that will soon demand to be dealt with.

After devouring nearly the entire tub, Via leaves and Keely is cornered by her mother as she finishes rinsing out their bowls and wiping away a few pink drops that landed on the counter top during her hasty scooping.

"Keely," her mom says in a tone that Keely knows all too well. She's got something important to discuss with her.

"Yeah, mom?" she replies as she deposits the dish towel near the sink and leans back against the counter.

Her mom tilts her head to the side. "What are you doing tonight?"

Keely shrugs. "Probably gonna head over to Phil's."

"You don't have a date planned?"

Unfortunately, she doesn't have a date planned. The idea doesn't make her all that happy either, come to think of it. Her and Phil haven't been too active in the going-out-for-dinner-or-movies-like-couples-usually-do thing. Of course, she admits to herself that's probably her own fault since she's the one who said they didn't have to 'do' anything.

"Sweetheart?" he mom says drawing her from her thoughts. She shakes her head and replies, "No date."

Her mom nods her head and looks away as she squints her eyes. Keely raises her eyebrow. "Why do you ask?" she says slowly.

"Keely..." she begins hesitantly, "I don't mean to sound like too much of a mother hen when I say this, but..you and Phil seem to see each other a lot."

Keely laughs lightly. "Ok..."

Her mom continues with a straight face, "You see each other at school five days a week, and then at least three out of those five days after school, and then again on the weekends..."

"Is that a problem?" Keely asks with a frown.

Her mom shakes her head. "No, it's not a problem," she says reassuringly, "I just noticed you two spend a lot of time together."

She shrugs. "We've always spent a lot of time together."

"Yes, that's true," her mom says with a nod, "but you were just friends then," she finishes carefully.

Keely raises her eyebrows in surprise. Her mom smiles. "It just seems to me that there is, or should be," she says holding up a finger, "an appropriate limit to the time a young lady spends...alone...with a boy."

Glancing up at the ceiling and fighting her embarrassment, Keely says with a slight groan, "Mom..." She looks back at her mother. "I'm 16," she says as if that should explain everything. "And Phil's...Phil," she says with a shrug. "Not just some random boy, " she says shaking her head before her eyes widen. "Wait a minute, what are you--"

Her mom holds up hand and shakes her head. "Now, sweetheart, I know what you're thinking, but I do remember, despite the number of years since then," she says with a sigh, "what it's like to be a teenager..." She adds firmly, "_With_ a boyfriend."

Keely exclaims in exasperation. "Oh, Mom!"

"I'm not trying to offend you, Keely," she says calmly, "but, as a parent, I have to have concerns about this."

She scoffs. "You could also have some faith in me."

Her mom replies honestly, "I do, sweetheart, I do."

"Mom," Keely begins slowly and a bit awkwardly, "me and Phil are just...hanging out...ok?" She rolls her eyes. "I mean, we spend our 'alone' time together having 'swinging races'."

Her mom furrows her brow. "Swinging races?" Her face lights up in alarm. "Is that code for--"

Keely winces and shakes her head. "It's not _code_ for anything. It is what it is." Off her mom's relieved sigh, she adds to reassure her further, "It's totally harmless and innocent fun."

"So, you two don't..." Her mom's struggle to say the words is clearly evident on her face.

As all the blood drains from her face, Keely wishes for a good hole to crawl into at the moment. With utter shock written on her pale face, she utters a quiet, "This is not really happening..."

Her mom dismisses her reaction as she explains, "All I'm trying to say is that you and Phil are young and, obviously very fond of each other, and I know how young people like to express their feelings--"

Keely tightly shuts her eyes and holds up her hand, "_Mom_."

She continues without missing a beat, "And I just want to make sure those...expressions...remain as harmless and innocent as your..." she waves her hands in the air, "your _swinging races_."

Keely groans and hangs her head. Her mom adds with a shrug, "At least I'm giving you enough credit to not go into 'The Talk' again."

"Please, no," Keely quickly pleads.

Her mom smiles softly. "Well, you and Phil are good kids," she says with a nod. "Remember that," she adds with a point of her finger.

Keely sighs. "You have nothing to worry about Mom."

She seems pleased with that and nods firmly. "All right then."

Glancing around the kitchen before setting her eyes back on her mom, Keely shrugs nonchalantly, "Soo, can I go to Phil's now?"

Her mom winces.

A few houses away, Phil is currently in a eerily similar conversation with his own mother. They sit in the living room on the couch. Phil leans back against the cushions with his feet propped up on the coffee table, while his mom sits next to him with her spine straightened and her shoulders squared.

Phil worries his bottom lip and stares at the blank television set letting her words sink in before he replies with a shrug and glancing over at her, "We spend as much time together as we always have."

His mom nods. "Yes, but now you two are a couple."

He furrows his brow. "Well.." he begins slowly since he's a little unsure about where this is going. He shrugs. "Friends gotta spend time together to have a friendship..I guess couples gotta do the same to have a relationship."

She nods again. "Yes, honey, that's true, but you and Keely aren't just friends anymore." As he regards her with confusion, she cocks her head and asks curiously, "How long have you and Keely been not just friends anymore, anyway?"

Phil sighs and rolls his eyes as he thinks about the calendar hanging upstairs. "Um.." He glances up while mentally calculating the time before looking back at his mom. "Forty-eight days," he says flatly.

Raising her eyebrows, she replies with a smile, "Wow..."

Phil smiles and shakes his head. "So..about..." he says while waving his hand in the air hoping to help get her back on track.

"Oh, right." She carefully adds, "Perhaps...you keep your bedroom door...open...from now on."

Blinking slowly, Phil utters, "Wha..." He shakes his head to clear away the initial shock before asking in disbelief with an unusual pitch to his voice, "What do you think we're doing up there?"

His mom opens her mouth to speak, but he quickly sits up and holds up his hand to stop her. "Wait," he says firmly as he looks down at the couch, "don't answer that." He shakes his head. "I don't think I can actually hear those kind of words from you."

She chuckles softly at her son's predictable reaction. "Phil," she says allowing him time to overcome his disturbance and look at her again. "All I'm saying is that you and Keely are 16 years old and--"

"Right!" he exclaims. "We're practically children," he says raising his hands in the air dramatically.

His mom shakes her head. "No, honey, you're practically adults." She holds up her hand and raises her eyebrow as she adds sternly before her son can get any ideas, "_Practically_."

Phil frowns. She smiles and pats his knee supportively. "Oh, honey, I don't mean to embarrass you or make you feel like I don't trust you either..." She laughs softly. "I'm just being your mom, that's all."

He nods and leans back into the cushions with a sigh as his mom rises to her feet and moves in the direction of the kitchen, but she stops a few feet away and turns back to him.

"Oh, and Phil," she says slowly. He lifts his head to look over the back of the couch at her as she furrows her brow. "The door thing?" she says with a shrug. "Keep that in mind even when you two are not in this house."

As she heads into the kitchen, Phil rolls his eyes, slumps down on the couch, and covers his face with his hands. He has every intention of pitying himself in light of his mother's sudden interest in his love life, but a familiar knock sounds at the door. Lifting his head, a smile spreads across his face and he hurries to answer it.

"Hey," Keely says with a bright smile.

"Hey," Phil replies similarly as he steps aside to let her come in. Having forgotten his mom's lecture as soon as he set his sights upon the girl who has become quite the distraction recently, Phil gestures at the stairs. "Shall we?"

She nods her approval. He laces his fingers with hers and leads her upstairs unaware of the fact that he's being watched. In his bedroom, he drops her hand and moves to close his window where a light breeze has scattered a few papers from his desk onto the floor.

Keely stuffs her hands in her jeans pockets and glances around. "So...get this...my mom thinks we spend too much quality time together," she says before placing her hand on the door knob.

Picking up the papers as he furrows his brow at her statement, Phil catches the movement from the corner of his eye. Suddenly, as realization dawns upon him, he stands up straight, his eyes widen, and he shouts, "Don't shut the door!"

Keely immediately freezes and turns her head to stare at him in wonder of his odd outburst. He tosses the papers onto his desk and laughs nervously. Keely raises her eyebrow silently questioning him.

He shrugs sheepishly. "Um..I mean..let's leave it open...for...to..."

"What?" Keely asks impatiently.

He sighs, and replies dryly, "Apparently my mom thinks the same thing."

Keely stares at him for a beat before laughing. "Gee, do you think they got together on this?"

Phil nods. "I smell conspiracy."

Her face drops as a thought hits her. "You don't think we spend too much time together, do you?"

He shakes his head. "No way." He adds slightly worried, "Do you?"

She slowly walks over to him and wraps her arms around his neck. "There's not enough time in the day for me to get my fill of...Phil," she says with a smile before placing a kiss to his lips.

As she pulls back, Phil slowly opens his eyes and breathes out a light sigh, but he suddenly frowns at the gaping hole where the solid thickness of his door should be.

Keely turns her head to see what's grabbed his attention. She laughs and looks back at his sad expression. "It's ok."

He casts her a very doubtful look, and she asks nonchalantly, "Did she say anything about...the _closet_ door?"

He grins. "Nope."

A few minutes later, his mom casually glances into his room as she walks by, but then stops and steps backwards to take a second look. Upon not seeing her son and his girlfriend, she furrows her brow.

"Huh." She puts her hands on her hips and looks from one side of his room to the other. "Where'd they go?" After a beat, she shrugs and leaves the room deciding that they must have gone outside while she was busy doing the dishes.

She never heard the soft laughter coming from the closet.


	6. Chapter 6

Well, now I gotta know..how old are you? And if you say that you're younger than me and _that_ articulate, I'm gonna either scream, possibly cry, or shake my fist at the heavens and curse them for life's cruel unfairness. By the way, so you're _only _still reviewing out of _obligation_? I'm trying not to take offense. But, regardless of the motivation behind your continuous ramblings...I mean...eloquent discourses...thank you :)

Now on to the _other_ member of the.. what was it? Oh yes, the 'Let's Review 'Til We Make Element90 Crazy' clan... You're too kind. Loved the 'Pointless fact time'...though, I'm a _tad_ unsettled by the cheerleader-ish pep...And I swear, I had this chapter planned out before I read your holiday-themed fic...so don't accuse me of what I accused you of earlier...or something like that. :)

Also, time's skipping ahead a bit for this chapter, as it will in later chapters as well. It's gotta be done that way for the story's sake.

Thanks everyone! It's nice to see some familiar names. (my author notes are getting longer...hmm...and I told myself I'd never do that)

Chapter 6

Casually strolling along the sidewalk with his hands in his pant pockets and his shoulders relaxed, Phil sees the object of his reason for this latest outing. A bright smile lights up his face at the sight of her as she bends at the waist and peers into her mailbox.

"Hey," he calls out once he's within a few feet. She looks up from scanning the various letters in her hand and smiles.

"Hey there, stranger," she greets as Phil comes to stand in front of her. "Haven't seen much of you the past few days," she says somewhat sadly disappointed by the lack of his presence lately. She asks with a tilt of her head, "Crazy holiday break?"

Phil shakes his head. "Nah, not really."

She nods softly as she glances down briefly at her mail before meeting his gaze again. The way the afternoon sunlight shines off his eyes making them brighter than she's ever seen, or ever noticed, creates a gentle flutter in her chest. She offers him a small smile and says as nonchalantly as possible, "I guess you've been busy with something..." She asks trying to ignore the sharp sting of pain in her heart, "Keely, I presume?"

Furrowing his brow so slightly, that it's nearly untraceable, at the look in her eyes and the unexpected feeling in his stomach due to that look, Phil opens his mouth to affirm the presumption, but he's interrupted by her lighthearted laugh.

"Of course you've been busy with Keely," Sara says in an attempt to sound casual and friendly despite the weight settling upon her. She shrugs with a smile. "So, what brings you this way? Just out walking?"

Before satisfying her curiosity, Phil takes a moment to reflect on the subtle change in her behavior at the mention of a certain blonde-haired girl. He realizes he has seen that change before, but he never really gave it much thought until now. And he's not sure how he feels about that. Deciding to put those thoughts to rest, he remembers the reason why he came over here, which just so happens to be the answer to her question.

"Actually, I came with purpose," he says pulling his right hand from his pocket. He shrugs. "Not that I didn't do that before."

She nods as she squints her eyes trying to see why he's holding his hand in a closed fist. "What do you have there, Phil?" she asks curiously looking back up into his grinning face.

"A gift," he says simply as he slowly opens his fist to reveal a small shiny object in his palm.

Quickly, Sara holds her hand to her chest. "Oh," she says looking at him with a small frown. "I'm Jewish." As his grin disappears, she shrugs softly and adds sympathetically, "I thought for sure I'd told you."

Closing his eyes briefly to mentally kick himself before looking at her apologetically, he replies, "Sara, I'm sorry, I-I didn't kn--"

He stops abruptly as her serious face collapses into a huge smile. Bending slightly forward, she laughs heartily for a moment as he stares at her with a blank expression before she straightens her back and sighs. "I'm not Jewish, Phil." She chuckles as she points at a yard ornament. "Guess you missed the Santa."

Phil glances at the yard where a plastic, light-up figurine adorns the front of the house. He looks back at her smiling face and replies dryly, "That wasn't very nice." He moves to re-pocket the object in his hand as he shrugs. "Guess I'll just keep this then."

"I apologize," she says sincerely before grinning childishly. "Now hand it over, pal."

He slowly presses the small token into her palm. "It's not much..."

She holds the circular silver key chain up in front of her face to study it more closely. As the sunlight strikes it, the sparkle from the smooth shiny metal surface reflects in her clear green eyes. Phil watches with fascination as a small smile begins to form on her lips.

"You like it?" he asks hopefully.

She nods looking into his eyes. "I like it." She looks back at her gift and furrows her brow. "But what's it mean?"

Phil sighs and laughs softly. "Right...not fluent in Chinese symbols?" Off the shake of her head, he explains, "It represents...comfort."

Sara runs her thumb over the slick surface to feel the carved indentations of the thin lines creating the symbol. "Comfort," she repeats softly keeping her gaze on the object.

"When I saw it..." Phil says with a shrug, "I thought of you."

Liking the sound of that, Sara replies, "Well, as I look at it.." she says with a smile, "I think of..'perfect'."

"I know it's just a key chain," he says with a shrug.

She shakes her head. "There are a dozen presents under our tree with my name on them," she says holding her key chain up to emphasize her point, "but I bet not a single one beats this." She adds sincerely, "Thank you."

Phil nods. "You're welcome."

Gesturing with a tilt of her head towards her house, Sara asks, "Can you come inside?" She pockets the key chain and smiles. "I've got something for you."

As she slowly backs up the walkway, Phil smiles as his feet propel him forward with a mind of their own. As he passes through her front door, he glances around at the large living space accentuated by the high vaulted ceiling above. While Sara deposits the mail on the small table in the foyer, Phil walks into the great room in awe of the sights before him. A large fir tree decorated in white lights and shiny ornaments towers in the corner next to a large fireplace where a few small flames flicker. His gaze travels to the cream-colored walls to rest upon a dark wooden oval frame holding the picture of the brunette girl who has moved to stand beside him.

Looking over at her quickly, he smiles and then tilts his head slightly at the curious expression on her face. She asks, "What is it?"

He glances back at the incredible display of perfectly positioned, crisp white upholstered furniture and expensive-looking vases filled with Poinsettias, and the various beautiful antiques placed sporadically about the room.

"I've never been _in_ your house," he says looking back at her. He smirks playfully. "We never got further than the curb." He adds teasingly, "It was like there was this imaginary brick wall blocking our way."

"Well," Sara replies with a smile, "now there isn't an obstacle to be found." Although she intended for the comment to be an innocent joke, the deep meaning hidden in between each word is not lost on her. And the fact that her words also have a slightly less than truthful ring to them is not lost on her either. But the remaining obstacle, the only real thing keeping them from moving forward, and not so much into her house, is not going to be as easily overcome as the nonexistent brick wall.

She mentally shakes herself from her thoughts and offers Phil an invitation to follow her, which he does so willingly. She leads him through the sparkling stainless steel appliance filled kitchen to a small white wooden door. He looks down the short flight of beige carpeted stairs descending into the basement.

He raises his eyebrow at her, but she just smiles and begins her descent. He follows not far behind her. She steps down onto the floor and switches on a small ceramic lamp sitting on a tall, narrow table at the foot of the stairway. Phil glances around the softly illuminated room.

"Whoa...the entire basement is your bedroom?" he asks taking in the large canopy bed with shimmering light-colored material hanging down.

"Uh huh," Sara replies as she moves to her bed to switch on another small lamp to increase the light in the dim interior.

Noticing another doorway, Phil peers into the darkness where he can barely make out a glass shower door. "You have your own bathroom?" he asks looking back at her. She smiles. He catches a glimpse of a small kitchenette across the room. His eyes widen. "And microwave?"

She laughs and points to the floor beneath it. "Don't forget the mini-fridge." She shrugs. "Perks of being an only child."

Phil scoffs. "No kidding." He rubs his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder if it's too late to return Pim."

"Hey," Sara says slightly offended, "I like Pim." She smiles. "She has a darling sense of humor."

"Darling? _Pim_?" He shakes his head. "No, I'm pretty sure 'darling' is the antithesis of Pim."

Sara laughs as Phil can't help but look around admiringly at her personal space again. "Wow..I could live here," he says in awe.

"Well," she begins with a wince, "I think my parents, Dad especially, might have a problem with that." She adds off his grin, "But you're more than welcome to come hang out here anytime."

Phil shakes his finger at her. "Be careful...I might just take you up on that offer."

Sara rolls her eyes at his pretending to be stern with her even as her heart absorbs every word like a sponge. She looks away and catches sight of the reason why she brought him down here. Grabbing it up from her beside table, she turns to face him again. "This is for you," she says holding it out to him.

Slowly reaching out to grasp the thin sheet between his fingers, Phil raises his eyebrow and asks, "An envelope?"

"A card," she corrects with a disappointed shake of her head at his attempt at humor.

Phil shrugs and draws his arm back to his body as he looks down at the gold-colored exterior with a frown. "What kind of gift could possibly fit in here?"

Sara rolls her eyes at him again. "The _card_ is the gift."

"I'm kidding," he replies glancing up at her through his dark lashes with a grin.

She sighs. "You always have to do me one better, don't you?"

He shrugs. "I try, but you don't make it too easy." Off her satisfied smirk, he adds with a raised eyebrow, "Should I open this now or later?"

Thinking about the contents of the card in his hands, Sara quickly decides he should definitely not open it right now. "Later."

He nods as she gestures to an armchair next to a lamp and a book shelf. "Want to sit?"

Despite his desire to say 'yes' to her offer, Phil has to decline. "Actually, I should probably head back home."

Sara nods in understanding. "Plans with Keely?" Off his slightly confused expression, she explains, "It's the day before Christmas..and since the _actual_ day is usually reserved for family..I figure you would want to spend at least some part of this 48-hour holiday extravaganza with your girlfriend." She shrugs. "I mean, don't waste it on a _regular_ friend," she says lowering her eyes to the thick carpet at her feet.

Phil slowly moves forward a couple of steps as he shakes his head and smiles softly. "Being with you, Sara..." he begins with a light tone, but then his smile fades and his voice lowers, "is never..a waste," he finishes slowly as he finds himself transfixed by her captivating gaze.

For a moment, neither of them move nor speak; they keep their eyes locked on each other in the dim luminescence. A warmth travels underneath the fabric of his shirt to rise to his neck. But it's not an uncomfortable flush of heat from embarrassment or nervousness; it's a cozy warmth that leaves him feeling light on his feet.

However, as he gazes into her green eyes, he notices they are much too dark. Upon realizing the reason why, Phil gently shakes his head trying to focus on the moment and not on what has just transpired and not on the image of a beautiful blonde girl in his mind.

"Well, I'll see you during the week, I'm sure."

Sara nods. "I'll hold you to that," she says with a soft smile as she moves to lead him back upstairs.

As they make their way to the front door, Phil chuckles, "Yeah, I'll come hang and drink from your mini-fridge."

Glancing over her shoulder as she opens the door, Sara replies, "I'll even let you use my microwave _if_," she says pointing a finger at him, "you bring the little frozen cheese and sauce topped bagels."

He steps out onto the porch and nods. "Deal."

Suddenly, Sara wraps her arms around his shoulders in a brief, gentle hug. "Thanks again, Phil," she says pulling away from his surprised face. "For the gift."

"And thanks for this.." He waves his card. "Whatever it is."

"I guess you'll find out."

"I can't wait," he says teasingly as he turns to leave, but her voice stops him in his tracks. "Hey, you're going to Owen's New Year's Eve party, aren't you?"

Phil sighs. "I have to." He shrugs. "He said he'd cry if I didn't." Off her grimace, he adds, "Yeah, I don't want to see that either."

Sara nods. "Merry Christmas, Phil."

"Merry Christmas, Sara," he replies with a wave of his hand before walking away with a smile on his face.

Late that night, as he rests on his back in the soft grass of his backyard, Phil gazes up at the dark, clear sky distractedly counting the brilliantly shining stars trying to keep his mind busy and off of the confusing thoughts that have plagued it since his visit with a certain brunette the next street over.

With his focus drifting even further, he fails to hear the back door quietly creak open and then shut and the soft footfalls approaching him. But when he hears her sweet voice drawing him back to the moment, he blinks slowly and shifts his eyes to rest them upon her curious face. The gentle lines in her forehead and the small smile upon her soft lips make his body feel light as a feather.

"What are you doing?"

He breathes a sigh of content to have her close to him, like always, and glances back at the huge inky expanse above him. "Just..thinkin'." He glances down at his arm resting across his chest to read the glowing green digits on his watch. "Guess I lost track of the time."

Keely shrugs. "No big..your mom let me in, and she wanted me to tell you not to stay up _all _night." She frowns. "I think that was actually kinda directed at me too."

He winces and as he looks back at her, the sack hanging by her side catches his attention. "What's that?" he ask curiously.

Keely lifts it and grins. "Your present," she replies cheerfully.

Phil slowly leans up to a sitting position and hangs his arms on his knees. "Well," he says glancing up at her face. "Can I open it?" he asks dryly.

She rolls her eyes. "Duh." She sits in the grass next to him and plops the sack into his lap. "Here."

Eagerly, he reaches into the bag and pulls out the first thing his fingers make contact with, which upon meeting his eyes, he realizes is a picture frame, a hand-crafted picture frame apparently. The small snapshot-sized rectangular frame is painted a light blue and is embellished with tiny multi-colored beads in a random pattern. But the two smiling faces in the glass covered center is the best part.

Growing a little worried as he just stares at it blankly, Keely sighs. "It's lame, I know," she says lowering her head to look at the ground where she absentmindedly runs her fingers over the short blades of grass. She shrugs and looks back at his face. "But what do I get the guy who has all these cool..future..thingys?"

At the hopeless sound in her voice, Phil tears his eyes from the photograph and says sincerely, "Keely...I love it."

"You do?" she asks in a small voice.

"I do," he says with a smile as he gives it another look before glancing back at her. "And it's not lame." He shrugs. "Sentimental, yeah, but not lame."

She breathes out a sigh of relief. "So, you like sentimental?"

He nods as he returns his attention back to the framed picture. "Cool," she says happily. Leaning over and resting her chin on his shoulder as she looks down at it, she asks, "Do you remember that day?"

Phil, without looking at her, softly replies, "I remember everything." Keely smiles at that as he laughs lightly. "I hadn't realized how much we've changed." He laughs again and turns his head to look at her face. "You look so young here. Seems like a long time ago, doesn't it? Even though it's really not."

Keely nods causing her chin to rub against his shoulder which makes him smile. She replies, "Yeah, it does." She laughs. "Look at your hair."

Phil scoffs as he examines the image of himself. "What hair? I barely had any."

Reaching up to run her hand over his head and making his currently much thicker hair stick out in all directions, Keely says with a smile, "Compared to now."

He cuts his eyes over at her as she places her chin back on his shoulder. "Is that a hint? Are you saying I need a haircut?"

She shakes her head and smiles up at him. "I love hardly-any-hair-Phil just as much as full-head-of-hair-Phil."

As he ponders a specific word in her casual comment, which she apparently didn't catch, Keely grabs the bag and holds it up closer to his face. "You're not done yet."

He blinks and glances down into the bag to see another similarly shaped object inside. He takes the bag from her grasp and pulls out a second frame, which is painted a light yellow with only a few beads in each corner.

Frowning slightly, as he stares at the laughing couple, he asks, "Who took this one?"

"Thomas."

Phil glances over at her. "Yearbook-Thomas? With the camera hanging around his neck all the time?"

"The one and only," she says with a nod. "Apparently he was out getting some snapshots for our class page that day."

Raising his eyebrow, Phil asks, "How'd _you _get it?"

Keely shrugs. "He gave it to me a couple of weeks ago." She smiles thinking back to the shy, awkward way he'd cornered her in the hallway at school. He told her he thought that 'the happiest couple at Wells' might like to have the picture he just couldn't resist snapping while they were at an outside lunch table grinning as Keely stood behind Phil with her arms wrapped around his neck and her cheek pressed to his.

"You don't want to keep it?" Phil asks a little sadly.

Keely smiles to put his worry to rest. "I made a copy for myself."

Satisfied with that, Phil picks up the first frame off the grass and holds it next to the other in his hand. "Best friends," he says happily as he looks at the boy and girl standing side by side. "And..."

As he gazes at the second one again, he feels an overwhelming emotion even more powerful than that he felt looking at the picture that so perfectly captured the essence of their friendship, and as he turns his head to rest his gaze upon the source of that emotion, he wants more than anything in the world to share the incredible feeling with her. But, even though the words are there, he doesn't speak them.

"Thank you, Keely," he says settling for a sincere appreciative gesture instead.

She nods and glances around them nonchalantly. Phil raises his eyebrow. "What?" he asks cautiously.

"So..where is it?"

He feigns ignorance and looks around before turning back to her with an innocent shrug. "Where's what?"

She narrows her eyes at him and lightly pinches his arm. Phil quickly places his hand over the wounded area. "Ow!"

But Keely is unconcerned with his 'pain' as she crosses her arms over her chest and pins him with an unrelenting stare. Though he's tempted to give in, he squares his shoulders and firmly shakes his head. "Not yet."

Her mouth drops open in disbelief. "Not yet?" she scoffs.

His shakes his head again. "It's not Christmas."

"Phil..." she whines as she gestures to his gifts. "I just gave you _yours_."

"That was your choice," he says with a playful smirk. "I choose to make you wait."

Throwing her head back in exasperation, Keely groans. "Come on, Phil, it's like less than three hours away."

He shrugs. "Three hours is three hours."

She rolls her eyes. "Fine..whatever." Pointing to his house, she asks unenthusiastically, "Well, if I can't have my present, can I at least use your bathroom..." She holds her hand up as she shakes her head. "Way too much of Mom's Christmas cocoa."

"Go ahead," Phil says with a light laugh. "But, just so you know, it's not anywhere in the house."

Raising her eyebrow at that, she hurries off.

Sneaking through the house, trying to be as quiet as possible so as to not awaken his family, Keely can't help but peek into Phil's room on her way to the bathroom hoping to catch a glimpse of a nicely wrapped present, despite his claims that it's not there. She glances around before deciding that what she's doing isn't right, but as she tiptoes backwards through his doorway, she notices a glint of gold in the center of his bed.

Strangely curious about the object, Keely, against her better judgment, slowly walks over to it and carefully picks it up. The outside surface is blank, and that only deepens her curiosity. Turning it over in her hands, she notices the seal has been broken. Peeling back the top of the envelope, she slips her fingers inside and gently tugs on the contents. A simple white card with 'Merry Christmas' printed in golden ink is revealed to her.

Furrowing her brow and biting down on her lip, she debates whether to open it as the possibilities of who the giver and the intended receiver might be swarm her mind. But she can't deny the whispering voice within her encouraging her to satisfy her curiosity, nor can she deny the strange feeling that the seemingly simple object in her hands is not necessarily such. Taking a quick breath, she opens it. Squinting her eyes in the low light from the desk lamp, she sees a handwritten cursive passage. Naturally, she begins to read the words.

After a minute, the card gently falls from her fingertips back onto his bed as she stands in silent shock. Her breaths come in quick, shallow puffs of air as her heart constricts in her chest. Slowly, she bends to tuck the card back into its envelope and walks to the door.

A few more minutes later, she finally reemerges outside in the backyard where Phil is once again lying back in the grass. He lifts his head at the creak of the door and smiles. "Refreshed?"

Keely stops a few feet away from him and replies with a distant, "Huh?"

Phil furrows his brow at her strange behavior. "Keel?"

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she smiles and says, "Yeah...I'm.." She swallows the lump in her throat. "Good," she finishes softly.

"Good," Phil says with a smile. "Now get over here," he playfully commands.

Hesitantly, she lowers herself down onto the grass and into a reclined position matching his. Resting her hands on her stomach, she stares up into the night sky as the words she'd read earlier keep replaying in her head over and over, and the onslaught of emotions squeezing her heart does nothing to keep her vision from swimming.

She wants to ask him about the card. She wants to ask him why he didn't mention he'd received it. She wants to believe that it's his personal business. She wants to pretend the words she'd read didn't bother her. And she wants to know how they affected him. And, on that note, she wants to ignore the suspicion that was aroused in her as she'd read the last line...

_'I wouldn't be telling you this if I didn't have this voice in my mind saying, just maybe, you feel something for me too.'_

Taking a silent breath, she asks quietly, "Phil?"

He turns his head to look at her. "Yeah?" he replies softly.

She opens her mouth to speak, but before the words escape her, she quickly decides against them as she tries to convince herself that she doesn't have any reason for worry. Besides, bringing up the subject is only going to lead to the inevitable argument and shed light on the fact that she'd invaded his privacy and immediately doubted him and become the jealous girlfriend she'd promised herself not to be. Plus, she refuses to let anything ruin her Christmas.

"Are you..." she says turning her head to face him. "Having a good holiday break?" she asks with a small smile.

He grins and answers without hesitation, "The best."

Pushing all her troubles way down deep inside her, she smiles and says with as much conviction as possible, "Me too."

She turns her gaze back to the sky as Phil watches her with a hint of curiosity in his dark eyes. He isn't absolutely sure, but he could almost swear he saw a sheen of tears in her eyes. But as she laughs lightly and begins to point out random, odd-shaped patterns formed by the stars and dreaming up wild imaginations as to what they could be, he dismisses the notion that those tears, if that's what they were, were anything more than an expression of happiness.

Later that night, with heavy thoughts on her mind and equally as heavy feelings in her heart, as Keely creeps back into her own bedroom and flips on her beside lamp, she notices a small silver box on the floor next to her nightstand. Bending down, she sees a little piece of paper taped to the top. Plucking the note from the box, she holds it up to the light.

'Flashy Demo Reel Part 1' it reads in a very familiar print.

Instantly, her mood brightens as the memory of that very early morning comes to her, and a smile spreads across her face as she now becomes aware of the reason Phil had persistently kept her from leaving his backyard for the last three hours. She glances at her alarm clock. 12:07.

Shaking her head with a soft chuckle, she notices a small line beneath the one she'd all ready read.

'Hope this helps put you one step closer to your dream'

She smiles again at his words and the extra-special gift he's given her and carefully pries open the box to reveal a disc inside a pink case. Quickly she grabs up her phone and begins dialing.

"Hello?" answers a very wide-awake-sounding Phil on the first ring, obviously expecting her call.

Keely leans back against her pillows on her bed. "How'd you do it, Mr. Sneaky?"

He laughs. "John the Janitor kindly let me in after hours."

Raising her eyebrow, she replies dryly, "You mean you bribed him?"

"Yeah." Phil scoffs lightly. "But he doesn't bribe cheap."

Keely laughs. "And how'd you get it in my bedroom without my knowledge? Hmm?"

"Climbed in through your window while you were having dinner," he admits.

"Huh..I didn't even notice it when I came back up to get my jacket before coming over to your house."

Phil laughs. "Yeah, I was counting on your tendency to overlook things," he says teasingly.

Keely narrows her eyes. "Very funny." She furrows her brow. "Wait...what's on this disc anyway?" she asks holding it up to her face.

"What do you mean?"

She scoffs. "Well, what if I don't approve of the footage you chose." She shrugs. "What if my outfit was all wrong?"

"Keel..I spent hours going through all those tapes and editing them," he says with a hint of disappointment. "And you're worried that maybe I didn't include the right clips based solely on the fact that perhaps you weren't wearing the most stylish clothing at the time?"

"Uhhh, yeah."

Phil sighs. "I assure you I used all your, _self-proclaimed_, best footage." He adds with a light tone, "Plus, a few of my own personal favorites."

"Now I'm scared."

He laughs. She adds sincerely, "Thanks, Phil. It's the most generous thing anyone has ever done for me."

"Well, it's just a start, don't be too thankful yet."

She smiles. "I look forward to Part 2." Not wanting to end the conversation despite the sleepiness threatening to overtake her, she asks, "Phil, can you tell me a story?"

"A story? Like a bedtime story?" he asks lightly.

"Yeah," she says suppressing a yawn.

Phil chuckles. "Sounds like you should probably just go to sleep."

She shakes her head hoping to stave that off for a while longer. "Story, please," she softly demands.

With a sigh, Phil begins, "Once upon a time--"

Keely scoffs. "Once upon a time?"

"Hey, you want your story or not?"

"I'm sorry. Please continue."

Phil sighs again. "Once upon a time...there was this beautiful young girl--"

Keely asks eagerly, "What'd she look like?"

"What do you want her to look like?" Phil asks with a slightly bored tone to his voice.

She replies cheerfully, "Me."

"Ok..." he says expelling a long breath. "This beautiful young girl...call her _Keely_ if you wish...she--"

"Is this story gonna have any sad or scary parts?"

Phil whines, "Keel..."

"Sorry."

"Did your mother have this much trouble telling you bedtime stories when you were little?" he asks dryly.

She answers with a grin. "Every night."

"Hmph."

"I won't say another word."

As Phil begins his tale for the fourth time, Keely snuggles down into the warm confines of her bed covers and allows his soft, low voice to chase away all her negative thoughts and feellings and gently guide her into a peaceful slumber.

For now.


	7. Chapter 7

I went with the screaming. Gah! Two years! Well, at least I've only been 15 for two months...that makes me feel somewhat better...I guess. A glimpse into your mind...I'm not sure if I was delighted or frightened. :) And I'd like to think they spent 3 hours just enjoying each other's company...however you want to interpret that is fine with me. :) _Your_ imagination has to do at least some of the work.

A PowerPoint presentation on what now? Yeah, manipulation makes the world go 'round. That's the second Samantha J. Mulder comment I've read...who is this mysterious person? Hmm...anyway, apparently it's a compliment, so I'll take it.

And I'm not trying to give special treatment to two particular reviewers; I just have to bug them a little extra 'cause they take it so well. I appreciate everyone just the same. Thanks!

Chapter 7

Biting down on his lip and peeking through one eye, Phil desperately, and unsuccessfully, tries to keep his fear from showing as he presses his foot against the 'invisible brake' on the passenger side floorboard. Keely's hands hug the steering wheel of her mom's car in the correct ten and two positions, which impresses Phil despite the curb the tire on his side just roughly bounced off of.

"Oops," Keely says with a wince as she leans forward trying to see over the dashboard. "I think I hit something."

Phil raises his eyebrows at her. "Gee, you _think?" _

But Keely ignores him and adjusts the rear-view mirror so that it catches her reflection instead of the back glass.

Rolling his eyes, Phil carefully peeks his head through the open window to look down at the curb, now sporting a long black smudge. "Well, at least 'something' didn't have a pulse," he says in relief as he looks back at her to see her inspecting her teeth. "Keel?"

"Mm-hm," she replies as she smacks her lips. Phil sighs and slumps down in his seat knowing this could take a while. Keely lowers her head and looks up through her lashes at her reflection while giggling softly. Phil raises his eyebrow as he cuts his eyes over at her.

"Are you flirting with yourself...again? he asks dryly.

She tilts her head forward for him to examine the top where her hair is currently piled. "How's the 'do?"

Phil furrows his brow. "Is the hair supposed to stick out?"

"Yeah," she replies happily as she returns her focus to the mirror to check her appearance one last time before she pops the door open and eagerly jumps out.

"Finally," Phil breathes as he steps out onto the sidewalk.

"I did good," Keely says proudly as she admires her parking job.

Phil nods. "You did...better." Off her frown, he adds with a smile, "High marks for effort and much improvement."

"Cool," she replies pleased with that. Walking around to his side to link arms with him, she says with a smirk, "And to think that you doubted my skills..." She clicks her tongue and shakes her head as they begin walking up to the house.

He raises his eyebrow as he casts a sideways glance at her. "You still backed over the trashcan."

She holds up a finger. "_But_..." she says lifting her chin proudly, "I remembered the 'P' this time."

Phil nods. "Yes..yes, you did." He smiles at her. "We'll make a driver out of you yet, Keely Teslow."

She laughs. "Well, with the very _experienced_ Phil Diffy as my _driving_ instructor..." she says sarcastically.

"Hey," he says slightly offended, "I may have never _actually_ driven a car, but I know how it works."

"Of course you do," she says as if she's encouraging a child's self-confidence while she pats his hand. "Of course," she repeats trying to keep a straight face.

Phil frowns as he cuts his eyes over at her, and a small burst of laughter escapes her as she turns her head away from him. He just rolls his eyes at the expected reaction. Looking at the street, Keely notices for the first time the rather long line of cars.

"Wow, there's a lot of people here."

"Yeah," Phil says glancing at the street with a shrug, "who knew Owen was so popular?"

"No, that's not it," she says shaking her head. "Kids in Pickford long for a party," she says looking back at Phil. "No matter _who's_ throwin' it."

"Ohh," Phil replies with a nod as they step up to the door. As he knocks, Keely furrows her brow. "I wonder if Via's here. Owen was supposed to go get her." She frowns. "She didn't really want to come."

Phil scoffs. "Did any of us?"

With a bright smile, Keely replies, "I did."

"You would," he replies flatly before sighing and knocking his knuckles against the wood again with a little more force this time. "Who's minding the door in this place?"

"Apparently nobody," Keely says placing her hand on the knob and giving it a good twist. As the door swings open, she turns to Phil with a smile. "And that's how we do _that_."

He smiles in return as they step through the door into the large living room, but that smile quickly fades at the sight in front of him. "Uh..."

"This is _so_ cool!" Keely squeals in excitement over the loud music.

The entire room has been transformed into a dance floor as every piece of furniture has been removed. A large disco-ball graces the ceiling, large black speakers occupy every corner, and almost an entire wall is dedicated to a massive stereo system.

"You, me," she says pointing at herself, then at Phil, and then at the crowd in the middle of the room, "out there."

Phil shakes his head. "I'm kind of thirsty actually."

Keely raises her eyebrow. "You just drank a whole bottle of water on the way over here."

He shrugs sheepishly. "Must have been all that salt I had at lunch."

"We missed lunch," she says in confusion.

"I meant dinner," he quickly counters.

After regarding him with a fair amount of suspicion, Keely nods and lets him off the hook. "Ok," she says pointing a finger to his chest, "but then we get our groove on."

Phil smiles gratefully. "Thanks, Keel." As he backs away from her, he asks with a shrug, "You want anything?"

She shakes her head and he disappears into the sea of teenagers. Elevating herself on her toes, she tries to sift through the masses hoping to get a glimpse of her friend, but she's having no such luck. Though, she does spot a familiar face across the room, one which instills a raw jolt of jealousy and spite within her usually kind and understanding heart. Quickly she averts her eyes before the brunette can make eye contact. She mentally notes in relief that her boyfriend had headed off in the opposite direction.

"Ahh.." says a distinct voice from beside her. "Finally, someone I actually want to talk to."

Keely's eyes light up at the sight of the girl next to her. "Via!"

She nods with a straight face. "Good, you've brought enough cheer for the both of us."

With a frown, Keely asks, "Not having fun?"

Via sighs and looks out at the crowd. "Well, that depends on your idea of fun." She turns back to Keely with a slight grimace. "How does being hit on by an obnoxious football player strike you?"

Keely pats her shoulder sympathetically as Phil steps up to them. "Hey, Via."

She smiles. "Hello, Phil."

"Rehydrated now?" Keely asks raising her eyebrow.

Phil rubs his hands together. "Let's shake it!" he says with a bit of forced enthusiasm, which Via catches immediately. "You dance well, Phil."

He shrugs. "I know." Keely rolls her eyes while Via hides her smile. "But not so much to this kind of music," he admits as he gestures with his hand to one of the tall speakers emitting a hip-hop tune full of booming bass.

Keely laughs. "Yeah, Phil's more of a synthesizer kind of guy." Pointing her finger at Via, she adds, "You should see him. He does a mean robot."

Via raises her eyebrow at Phil. He nods, "Oh, yeah, very mean."

"My people!"

The three teenagers look up to see a very excited Owen fast approaching. He and Phil exchange a hand shake, which Phil has finally managed to get right. He winks at Keely. "Thanks for draggin' him here."

Keely smiles and wraps her arm around Phil's shoulders. "Oh, I don't know, Owen," she says giving Phil a nudge with her hip. "I think he was secretly dying to come."

Phil cuts his eyes over at her with a dull expression as Owen claps his hands together. "Well, I personally guarantee an awesome time." He glances around and lowers his voice. "Just don't go upstairs," he says with a wince, "Mom's up there."

Via chuckles, and they all turn to look at her. "Sorry, I just knew Owen would never be allowed to have a party without some kind of parental authority nearby."

He furrows his brow as Phil and Keely share a smile. Owen shrugs. "Well, come on compadres," he says gesturing to the makeshift dance floor, "let's move and mingle!"

As they join the crowd, Phil slides his arms around Keely's waist and pulls her close to him. She raises her eyebrow. "Phil..." she says glancing at the others around them jumping and twisting wildly about, "this isn't a _slow_ song."

He smiles a little half-smile that always leaves her feeling weak. "That's not what I'm hearin'," he says softly.

Being left without any voluntary self-control, she has no choice but to wrap her arms around his neck and close the small gap between their bodies.

The thumping dance beat blares around them, but they haven't any concern for it or the occasional looks they receive as they gently sway to their own rhythm.

Gazing into the eyes of the boy who means the world to her, Keely thinks about how foolish she's been lately. Her insecurities are a part of her, but they shouldn't make her feel less than absolutely special in the presence of this boy. The soft expression on his face and the way his heart beats against her own chest is all the proof she needs. As she rests her head on his shoulder, her eyelids fall and she completely loses herself in all-things Phil.

A few feet away from them, Via, who is actually enjoying her dance with the somewhat interpretive dancer that is Owen, smiles warmly at the happy couple. However, another observer in the far corner watches them without a hint of emotion on her face but not in her heavy heart.

Two songs later, they still haven't broke contact with each other. As Owen hurries off to investigate a disturbance near his mother's glass bird-figurine display case, Via crosses her arms over her chest and sternly eyes her two friends though a small smile plays on her lips.

"Ahem." Phil and Keely make no acknowledgment of her so she tries to earn their attention again. "Ahem," she repeats loudly.

Keely opens one eye to glance over at her. "Shh. Busy," she says before inhaling the fresh scent of her boyfriend's clothing and deciding she could remain exactly in this position for eternity.

Phil shifts his head just slightly so that he can see Via. He mouths the words 'hold on' before lifting his hands to Keely's shoulders and gently prying her off him, much to her protest.

"Phil.." she whines with a pout that he's instinctively inclined to give in to, but he stands his ground.

"Keel," he says softly, "I think we're slowly becoming permanently attached to this spot."

She sighs contentedly. "I don't mind."

He chuckles and glances over at Via who is waiting patiently. "Yeah, me neither, but..."

Keely follows his gaze. "Oh hey, Via," she says with a smile at her before turning back to Phil. "Girl time?"

Via holds up her hand. "No, don't let me interrupt." She adds with a smile, "I would hate to be the destroyer of the little world you two have created for yourselves."

Phil laughs while Keely rolls her eyes at her. "I can take a hint."

"We can't all be so lucky to have someone special to spend New Year's Eve with," Via says as she indicates Phil with a tilt of her head. Grabbing Keely's wrist, she says to him, "I'll bring her back soon."

Nodding his approval, Phil laughs as Keely frowns at him while Via practically has to drag her away. Glancing around, he spots a vacant area along the wall near the front door. Deciding it looks like a good place to lean on for a while, he carefully makes his way through the increasingly boisterous crowd.

Resting his back against the wall, he sighs lightly and watches the dancing throng with an amused expression.

"Thought you were going to come hang and drink from my mini-fridge?"

Phil turns his head to see Sara slowly walking up to him with a small smile on her face. "Hey, Sara," he says a bit hesitantly.

She leans up against the wall next to him and shakes her head gently. "Not that I was expecting you to after..."

Softly clearing his throat, Phil replies uneasily, "I don't think right now is the..best time to talk about...that."

"Because Keely's in the next room?" she asks even though she's aware of the answer.

"Well," Phil begins slowly trying to not sound defensive, "she _is_.. my girlfriend." He turns his head to meet her sad eyes and can't help but feel...guilty?

Sara nods and sighs as she looks down at her feet. "I know." She adds quietly, "I'm sorry."

Phil shakes his head. "You don't have to be sorry..." he says carefully as he turns his head to look at the scene before them again. He sighs heavily. "Look, Sara..I--" He abruptly stops as a group of giggling girls pass by them. He waits until they have departed the area and opens his mouth to speak, but Sara holds up her hand.

"How about we go outside?" Off his uncertain expression, she adds, "Just to hear me out." She says trying to reassure him, "I'll be brief."

Glancing in the direction he'd last seen Keely, he furrows his brow and reluctantly agrees to her offer. "Ok..."

As he follows her down the walkway to the curb, of all places, Phil imagines exactly what the girl walking in front of him has on her mind. Though he's got a pretty good idea, he doesn't have a clue as to what exactly he'll say in response. Ever since he read her card, he's been trying to convince himself that he misunderstood her words. But he really knows that he didn't. Sara's falling in love with him, and he's left completely clueless as to how he is supposed to even begin to react to that.

He likes her; he's always liked her from the moment he first laid eyes on her. And the strange feeling he'd felt, the comfort he couldn't quite grasp the significance of, has puzzled him from minute one.

But...was she right? Is there any truth to the voice inside her head leading her to believe that he might feel the same way about her? Obviously, he's attracted to her and finds her easy to be with and enjoyable to be with. He knows that he feels _something_ for her. And he's wrestled with the notion several times that he could ever have feelings for someone other than...

Keely.

Suddenly, his heart grows cold with dreadful regret as his body wills him to return to the house and find the only girl that really means anything at all and--

But the quiet voice of the girl standing before him tugs at his heart regardless of its belonging to someone else. "Do you want to sit down?"

He stares down at the curb with a blank expression for a beat before following her lead and easing himself down onto it. Clasping his hands together and hanging his head, Phil glances up through his lashes at the night sky trying to trigger some kind, any kind, of thought to enter his mind.

Sara breathes out a light sigh causing him to turn his head to gaze at her in the semi-darkness. Meeting his eyes, she smiles sadly. "Back to the curb."

Phil lowers his eyes to look at the space of cement separating them and then realizes he probably should have sat down a few more inches away from her. He furrows his brow at how he so naturally had put so little distance between them.

"That's some brick wall, huh?" she asks lightly despite the ache in her chest as she wonders how a girl like Keely can win the heart of such a deeply mysterious, incredible guy like Phil.

She was certain that Phil had seen a quality in herself that had sparked something within him which perhaps he could never experience with his girlfriend. She was certain that Phil had wanted that something in his life, and she foolishly thought he'd give up what he all ready had to get it.

But apparently she was wrong. The way he'd so tenderly held the other girl, seemingly the only girl in the world at the moment, was all she needed to crush any hopes she'd allowed herself to have.

Yet...a faint glimmer of hope returns as he looks at her with an undeniable emotion in his dark eyes. He _does_ feel something. She can almost swear by it.

"Sara..." he begins slowly as he tries to find the right words to speak. He's utterly torn; he doesn't know if he wants to deny his feelings or if he even _can_.

"It's ok, Phil," she says solemnly. "It's ok," she repeats barely above a whisper. "I know you don't feel...it's ok," she says trying to convince herself of as much.

"Sara.. I do..feel," he says quietly. Instantly, he almost regrets the admission..almost.. as his heart beats out a different name, but the joyful gleam in her eyes makes him smile in spite of himself.

She whispers hopefully, "You do?"

His head nods gently as his body leans forward the slightest bit closer to her. As his mind swims with emotions from one end of the spectrum to the other, he's no longer capable of any conscious thought.

Sara's heart pounds erratically in her chest as the moment she's been longing for ever since she met this irresistibly charming boy finally draws near...

Leaning her own body towards his with little effort, she shoves away the voice whispering in her head telling her that this is wrong...Phil has a girlfriend...you're disrespecting his relationship...someone's going to get hurt...and...he doesn't love you...he'll never love you...not the way he loves _her_...he can't...

As their eyes flutter closed, and as their breathing ceases momentarily, and as their lips _almost_ touch...

Suddenly, Phil leans back with horrified shock on his face. Sara slowly opens her eyes to look at him. His mind is overwhelmed, his body is numb, and his heart has stopped dead in his chest as the realization of what he was about to do, the realization of what he was about to ruin, the realization of what he was about to lose, hits him with a force that nearly knocks him over.

In the absolute silence, a small gasp sounds from behind them. As they both quickly turn their heads to the source of the noise, they feel a sharp, sickening blow to their stomachs.

Phil's eyes widen as his face pales and, what little breath he'd managed to regain, leaves his body. "K-Keely..." he chokes out through the dryness in his mouth and the thick grittiness of his tongue.

For a moment, she can't move. She can't breathe. She can't do anything but stare blankly at the terrified face of the boy she'd given her heart to, the boy she'd given her very soul to, the boy who, despite the scene she's just witnessed, can still claim the right to both.

Springing to his feet so quickly that his heavy thought-laden head nearly causes him to lose his balance, Phil moves towards her with pure fright in his eyes.

"Keely, I'm--"

As she snaps out of her daze and her eyes fill with a fiery rage, she warns him in a low, uncharacteristically-Keely voice, "Don't you _even_ say you're sorry."

Phil stops abruptly in his tracks. His mind races at the speed of light as he tries to pick out from the multitude of thoughts the one thing he can say to make everything right. But nothing will make everything right; certainly, not anything he could ever possibly say.

She tries to take a deep breath to control her anger, the most anger she has ever felt in her life, but her heart has plummeted to the pit of her stomach. The faintest trace of disbelief can be seen in her slightly furrowed brow as she stares at him with watery eyes, but she absolutely refuses to show her weakness in front of him...and her.

Sara slowly and awkwardly rises to her feet. "I'll go," she says meekly glancing over at Phil as she moves by him.

Keely shoots her a glare. "No, you stay," she says firmly before looking back at Phil as she fights back the urge to collapse into tears. "_I'll_ go."

As she stalks across the yard in the direction of her mom's car, Phil moves to follow, but Sara's quiet voice halts his intentions.

"I'm so sorry, Phil."

He glances back at her with a solemn expression. "It's not your fault, Sara," he says sympathetically knowing exactly who's to blame. He quickly looks away to see Keely nearing her destination. Knowing that soon she'll be beyond his reach, he looks back at Sara with a silent plea for her to understand. "I have to go to her."

Although his concern for her and the conversation they will eventually have to have about this makes her feel better, she's well aware of where his priorities lie. She nods her head mutely and he, without another moment's hesitation, takes off in a fast jog towards the very reason their inevitable conversation will only clarify where their friendship stands..and nothing more.

Just as Keely's hand reaches for the door, an out-of-breath Phil comes to a stop at the front of the car. "Keely..." he breathes.

She doesn't look at him; instead, she swings the door open and moves to get inside, but Phil's voice stops her.

"Nothing happened," he blurts out in his desperate attempt to find something to make her listen to him.

For a beat, she doesn't move, but when she does, Phil instantly regrets his words. She steps back from the car and slams the door so hard he fears the glass will break. She crosses her arms over her chest defiantly as she sets her jaw and narrows her eyes at him.

"Nothing happened?" she asks. "Nothing happened!" she repeats in a loud shout causing Phil to jump slightly at her rough tone.

He opens his mouth to speak, but she effectively cuts him off. "Of course, _nothing happened_, Phil..." she grits through her teeth. "_Nothing happened _because I caught you before you..." her angry voice falters despite her desire to keep it steady. "I can't even say it!" she exclaims throwing her hands in the air and turning her head away from him.

"Keely, let me explain," Phil pleads.

She shakes her head. "I may not be as _smart _as _Sara_, but I don't need an explanation from you to know what's going on here," she says in disgust as she opens her door for the second time.

Phil steps towards her, but the cold, hard glare in her eyes stills his every movement. "Keely..." he utters weakly through his emotional exhaustion.

For a brief moment, she hesitates at the pain in his voice, but she steels herself against it and dejectedly drops into the seat. Upon seeing the resignation in her face, Phil has no choice but to helplessly watch her ignite the engine, slowly pull onto the street, and disappear into the darkest night of his life.

"You don't...understand," he whispers into the quiet, still air.

Several minutes tick by as he stares into the empty street while his mind tormentingly replays the night's events over and over until his body threatens to shut down just to spare himself the heartache.

He knew there was a reason he didn't want to come here. He knew it didn't really have anything to do with the fact that he wanted to spent a quiet night at home with the single most important person he's ever met instead of attending this party. But he didn't know what the reason was until he had read that card. He knew she'd be here. He knew she'd want to talk to him. He knew he'd agree to it. He knew how she felt, and he knew how he felt.

But what he didn't know was what he would learn as soon as those feelings were confronted. He wasn't counting on the realization to strike him at the precise moment his lips nearly brushed hers.

And that's what Keely doesn't understand. And that's what he is determined to make her understand.


	8. Chapter 8

Ok...now that most of you hate me...

Trust me, I dislike Sara as much as anyone (even though she _is_ my creation) but that's life, right? Some people screw things up for themselves; some people screw things up for you. But, if it's any consolation, yes, I am a Phil/Keely 'shipper. Yeah, think of this fic as Keely's redemption for her behavior in the other one. And Phil...well, sometimes his golden boy image gets to me so hence the...well you know. I gotta admit, it's one thing for you guys to rant about what fictional characters do, but now I'm ranting and I freakin' create this garbage! And my therapist says writing is a _good_ outlet... riiight.

And about that another-level-thing? Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're that little piece of my brain I thought I'd lost. Sooo...can I have you back now? Ah, never mind. What's one more hole in the head, eh? Not junk? What have _you_ been reading? I _am_ going to review again...soon.

Well, here's to the very few left with the will to proceed after I crushed your Pheely hearts. Thanks for being brave :) I was in a strange mood when I wrote this so...it may come off as a little...odd.

Chapter 8

Slowly pulling into the drive, Keely stares out the windshield with a completely emotionless expression on her tired face. She eventually turns the key to shut off the purring engine, but she doesn't make a move to exit the car. Instead, her shoulders slump forward as she lowers her head and expels a long, shaky breath from her aching chest.

Glancing back up into the rear-view mirror, which she'd never repositioned, she can see the red dryness of her eyes where the tears had resided earlier. But the tears are gone; they never had a chance to spill over the edge onto her crimson cheeks burning with the intense anger she can still feel deep inside her though her utter exhaustion has weaken the raging flames to smoldering embers.

The night's unfortunate, and unexpected, events have taken a serious toll on her entire being. Her mind is now like a cavernous pit of nothingness. Every nerve, every muscle, every bone in her body feels empty and weightless, like she is a shell of the girl she was less than an hour ago. Only the cold, heavy hardness of her heart remains.

As her numb, lifeless hand reaches for the handle, suddenly, the passenger side door swings open and the blur of a body dumps into the seat. Her pure surprise causes her synapses to re-fire and her heart to beat fiercely against her chest as a surge of adrenaline encompasses her entire body.

But the soft voice beside her immediately soothes her like it has managed to do ever since she first heard it.

"Lucky for me," Phil says trying to regain his breath from the maddening dead-run he's just finished, "you still go out of your way.." he pauses for another deep inhalation and continues with an airy exhale, "to avoid that four-way stop when you're driving alone."

Despite the uncontrollable natural effect this boy has on her, Keely can feel the flames begin to grow again. The small smile that tugs at the corner of his lips does nothing to hide the deep despair in his eyes. But her mind selfishly won't allow her to feel for his pain. Not now.

As the anger rises within her once again, she narrows her eyes at him. "If you knew me half as well as you think, you'd know better than to come here right now."

Despite the stabbing pain, Phil replies gently, "I know you're upset."

The simplicity of his words is only fuel added to the fire. "That's gotta be the understatement of the year," she says coldly as she turns her head away from him.

Jumping right to the point, Phil says firmly, "I didn't kiss her."

"But you were going to," Keely snaps keeping her eyes focused on some indistinct point in space in front of her.

Phil shakes his head. "No, I wasn't."

Keely instantly turns on him. "How can you sit there and lie to me!" she nearly screams in a tone of voice Phil's not familiar with. "To _me_, Phil!"

He automatically leans back the slightest distance from the impact of her accusation while the hint of desperation in her voice as it threatened to break with those last three words effectively rips apart the remaining shreds of his heart.

"I meant," he begins slowly hoping to make her understand him, "I was never going to go through with it."

A bitter laugh escapes her as she turns her head and throws her hands in the air in disbelief. "I misunderstand a lot of things, Phil," she says solemnly before the spite returns to her voice and she turns her glare back on him. "But I'm pretty sure what my boyfriend looks like when he's leaning in for a kiss!" she finishes in a shout.

Phil briefly closes his eyes trying to blink back his frustration. "But I stopped it _before_ I even knew you were there," he explains as calmly as possible.

"But you were _going _to do it," she says punctuating her anger with a jab of her finger in his direction. The slightest trace of sadness fills her eyes as she adds in a small voice, "You wanted to do it."

Leaning back against the cool leather of the seat in defeat, Phil sighs heavily and stares at the dashboard. She's right. His mind screams at him. She's _right_. He wanted to kiss Sara, even if only for a few seconds, he wanted to. And the thought was more terrifying than anything he's ever encountered...until he had seen the face of the only girl he's ever...

"How long has it been.." she says as her voice wavers, "going on?"

His eyes widen as his worst fear is confirmed. She thinks he's been...

"You and..." To keep her voice from failing her again, she chooses to not speak the name.

Phil shakes his head. "Nothing's been going on."

"Right," she replies harshly.

His sad eyes desperately plead with her. "Keely, I swear to you, I've never..we never--"

She interrupts him without concern for his attempts to put her suspicions to rest. "You know," she laughs bitterly, "I wanted to believe that what I read wasn't true."

Immediately, Phil is confused. "What you read?"

But Keely continues without regard for his confusion. "And tonight..when we were dancing..." she says as her mind drifts back to one of the happiest moments of her life, one of the only moments she's ever felt completely...complete. She shakes her head to clear the image. "I _knew_ it wasn't true..without a doubt."

Still trying to comprehend her, Phil furrows his brow. "What do you mean by..what you read?" he asks cautiously as he begins to feel the faint beginnings of alarm.

Keely turns her head to look at him with sorrowful eyes. "The card, Phil," she says quietly.

Ignoring his initial shock and dread, and then slightly shaking his head while wondering how she had found the card that he'd recently thrown away, he asks, "When did you re--"

"Christmas Eve."

He furrows his brow again. "But...you didn't say anything about it."

"Because I wanted to forget it," she says as her voice rises in pitch.

Temporarily forgetting the point, Phil shakes his head. "I can't believe you re--"

"Oh no!" Keely interrupts him with a burst of highly charged emotion as she holds her hand up. "_You _don't get to be mad!" she yells pinning him down with a hard glare.

But he, unwisely, doesn't heed her warning. "You went behind my back and read something that wasn't any of your business!" he shouts back at her defensively.

"You went behind _my_ back and _cheated_ on me!" she nearly screams.

"I..never..kissed..her!" he grits through his teeth.

Keely scoffs. "You didn't have to _actually_ kiss her, Phil!" She points her finger at him again. "You spent time with her while you had _feelings_ for her! That's more than enough!"

She rolls her eyes and throws her hands in the air as her back solidly connects with the seat. "I wish you would have kissed her," she says in a normal voice despite the hint of sadness in it. As Phil watches her with a frown on his face, she looks down at her lap. "As bad as that would've been..." she says glancing back up to meet his eyes, "it wouldn't be this bad."

The idea that her boyfriend, who just so also happens to be the only person whose heart will ever perfectly match her own, would even _consider_...doing _that_... with anyone else...that alone is hard enough to think about...but...knowing that he experienced an emotional connection with another girl...a connection she thought was meant only for herself...it's more than she can bear.

Phil sighs and rubs his tired eyes before turning his head back to look at her. "Keely.." he begins softly, "what I'm trying to say is that--"

"Just..I don't...I can't," she says not being capable of withstanding the emotional turmoil anymore tonight as she pops the door open.

Extending his hand to grab her arm before she can escape his reach, Phil, hoping she'll stay, desperately pleads, "But Keely, I..."

However, he's attempts are futile. She's all ready standing outside the car. And as she slowly lifts her sad gaze to his face before closing the door, she leaves him with a nearly inaudible whisper filled with sorrow and hopelessness...and bitter irony.

"Happy New Year, Phil."

Long after she's gone from his sight, long after the porch light has been extinguished, long after the heat from the hood of the car has dissipated into the night, Phil carefully steps out, gently pushes the door to, and slowly walks home.

By morning, the bright, cheery sunlight illuminating his bedroom makes him feel even worse. He didn't think that was possible, yet, here he is lying on his stomach with his face pressed into his mattress hoping that the day will soon be over. With a groan, he begrudgingly pushes himself off the bed and heads to the bathroom. On his way, he stumps his toe against something in the middle of his floor. Squinting down at the object through his sleep-swollen eyes, he recognizes the hindrance as his Wizrd.

"How did..."

He scratches his head and grumbles an unintelligible phrase as he bends to retrieve the device which normally stays either in his closet with the rest of his gadgets or his backpack.

But as he slips it into his bag, he remembers. The image strikes him with sharp clarity. Keely. Yesterday afternoon, as she insistently demanded they wear complimentary colors to the party while he insistently protested, she had pulled the Wizrd from his bag, of course knowing exactly where to find it, and had cornered him by pressing it to his jugular vein while she threatened to 'just start pushing buttons' because he had insulted her need to always color-coordinate them whenever they attended a function.

And after a brief struggle to regain control of the device and to keep her from doing something drastic, he had gotten the upper hand with a clever distraction by shouting out that her shirt was really cadmium-yellow and not lemon-yellow like she had previously pointed out to him. As she had momentarily glanced down to examine herself, he had managed to escape the headlock and pin her arms behind her back. But, when she had stomped her heel down on his foot, he'd tossed the Wizrd aside in order to nurse his wound. However, the Wizrd and his injury had soon been forgotten as Keely, feeling bad for nearly crushing his metatarsals, had begun to 'make it up to him.'

While the memory makes him smile, the realization that follows drags all the pain right back to firmly slap him in his face. That was yesterday. That isn't today. Absentmindedly, he rubs his jaw where he can almost feel the sting.

Unable to no longer ignore nature's calling, Phil hurriedly continues his journey to the bathroom. But his sister steps into his path just outside his door.

She raises her eyebrow as she takes in his disheveled appearance. "What happened to _you_?" She scoffs. "You look like the walking dead."

Phil rolls his eyes. "Yeah, well, I might as well be." He roughly pushes by her in his haste. "Excuse me," he mutters.

"Ooh," Pim calls out to his retreating form, "we're certainly moody this morning. Did somebody miss his beddy-bye time?"

He slams the bathroom door shut. The mirror above the sink mocks him with his own reflection.

"I don't look like the walking dead." His face contorts in disgust. "I look worse."

The cheery brightness of the kitchen, unfortunately, has the same effect on him as he slouches towards the refrigerator.

"Good morning, Phil," his dad greets enthusiastically as he gives him a firm pat on the back on his way to the back door nearly causing Phil to drop his carton of orange juice. "Ahh.." his dad breathes as he pauses at the door and looks back at his son with a proud smile. "It's a new year, son," he says pointing at Phil. "Time to turn over a new leaf, time to make resolutions, and time to put the past behind us," he says with a shrug, "hopefully literally speaking."

With the carton in one hand and a half-full glass in the other, Phil watches him with a blank expression as the entire one-sided exchange fails to take root in his minimally functioning brain. His dad nods his head. "Yes, my boy, things are looking up for the Diffys."

As Phil continues to stare, his dad eagerly bounds out the door. After a beat, his mom enters the quiet space with a frown on her face.

"Is something wrong with the juice?"

Blinking slowly, Phil glances down at the contents of his hands. A carton of juice and a half-full glass. The juice in the glass comes from the carton. The carton gives juice to the glass. But the glass isn't completely full of juice because the juice suddenly stopped pouring from the carton into the glass.

"Phil, is the juice ok? It shouldn't be out-of-date, I don't think."

Is the juice old? What does that have to do with it no longer pouring from the carton into the glass? He raises the glass to his nose for a sniff. It does smell kind of...less than fresh. But the juice can't remain new forever. It ages. Could it really be out-of-date? Is that why the carton stopped pouring it into the glass?

He shakes his head. His own metaphors confuse him as the respective representations overlap each other until he's not sure who the carton is and who the glass is and if the juice is even anything at all. Phil carefully sets both on the counter and cautiously steps back from them.

"Phil?"

Lifting his gaze to his mother's curious face, he says abruptly, "I'm just tired."

Furrowing her brow, she replies, "All right...but is the juice ok?"

Glancing back at the liquid in the glass, he says quietly, "I think it...will be."

His mom looks at the juice in confusion. "After what?"

"Nothing," he replies as he steps away from her.

Turning on her heel to look at him, his mom offers, "Honey, maybe you should catch up on that missed sleep today."

He nods solemnly. She adds with a smile, "You'll get to see Keely tomorrow at school.." She winks. "I think you can survive one day away from her."

As if his heart couldn't sink any lower...Phil offers, for her sake, a very small smile and slowly walks away hoping that she is right.

Reclining on her back and staring at the ceiling, as she has been for nearly the whole night, Keely slowly raises her head to see who dares to enter her bedroom while she's in such a state.

"Rise and shine, sweetheart!"

That kind of perkiness can only be attached to one other person besides herself, or her normal self anyway. Her mom trots over to her bed and gives her a little shake. Wanting nothing more than to bury herself so far down into her covers that she ceases to exist, Keely plasters on her best fake smile.

"Good morning, Mom."

She claps her hands together and grins. "I've got a heap of K-shaped New Year's chocolate-chip pancakes right off the griddle!"

"Thanks, Mom," Keely replies despite the knot in her stomach effectively keeping her appetite at bay.

She tilts her head as a thought occurs to her. "I checked the clock when I heard you come in last night." She furrows her brow. "You didn't stay at the party until midnight."

Keely averts her eyes to the rumpled mess that is her t-shirt, no doubt due to her constant tossing and turning through what remained of the night after...

"Yeah," she replies trying to sound as normal as possible. "I got.." she says cutting her eyes side to side before deciding to go with, "tired."

Her mom nods. "Oh." With a slight frown she adds, "You missed your favorite part of the night."

Shrugging her shoulders, Keely casually replies, "Yeah, well, I've seen that ball drop..what..." She pauses for mental calculation. "like thirteen times?"

Before her mom can speak, the doorbell rings.

"Ooh.." Keely's mom says playfully, "I wonder who that could be?"

"It better not be who she thinks it is," Keely grumbles to herself as her mom disappears out the door.

A few minutes later, a very welcome face appears in her doorway.

"Hello."

Finally, a real smile spreads across her face. "Via." She mentally sighs in relief to see her friend instead of...a certain someone who shall remain nameless.

"What happened to you last night?" she asks curiously as she seats herself at the end of Keely's bed. "I never saw you again after you went to look for Phil."

Keely looks down at her lap hoping that the lump in her throat will slide on down with ease. Via furrows her brow at her reaction. "Well, the expression on your face completely discredits my 'Keely and Phil slipped off into the night for some alone time' theory."

With a heavy sigh, she looks back up at her. "I don't know if I really want to talk about it."

Via asks sincerely, "Are you sure?"

Keely softly nods her head. "Yeah."

"All right," Via says gently as she rises from the bed, "I'll leave you alone, and when you're ready to talk, you know where to find me."

Unable to control the emotion bubbling to the surface, Keely abruptly blurts out in a near shout, "He was with her!"

Immediately, Via drops back down to her previous position and tries to pretend like she wasn't totally expecting that outburst. "Who was with who?"

"Phil!"

"With...?"

"Sara!"

"When?"

"Last night!"

"When you say 'with' you mean--"

"Yes!"

Via sighs quietly. "What happened?"

Keely scoffs. "They almost kissed is what happened!"

Via furrows her brow. "Really?"

Keely looks shocked. "You don't believe me!"

Via shakes her head. "No, it's not that. Of course I believe you...it's just.." She frowns. "Phil?"

Keely's eyes widen in exasperation. "Yes, _Phil_!"

Tilting her head to the side, Via asks, "Is this about what we spoke of before?"

Rolling her eyes, Keely asks, "My petty jealousies and insecurities?" She shakes her head before Via can reply. "No, this is about Phil almost kissing Sara!"

Via furrows her brow. "Almost."

"Via!"

"What?"

Keely throws her hands in the air. "Why aren't you furious!"

Via shrugs. "I suppose I'm trying to process everything."

Keely scoffs. "What's so hard to get? Phil has feelings for another girl!"

Via replies carefully, "But I thought they were just friends.."

"Yeah, well, apparently, somewhere along the way..." she says looking down at her lap again, "they became more than just friends." She narrows her eyes as she imagines what the two of them could have been doing together for the past several weeks. "If they ever were _just friends_."

"Keely, I--"

"If you say I'm overreacting, I'm gonna...do...something..." She holds up a finger. "_Mean_ to you."

Trying to keep a straight face and not insult her friend by laughing at her, Via says gently, "Just..calm down..and tell me what happened...calmly."

Keely scoffs. "I'm sorry if I can't be _calm_ right now, Via, but in case you weren't listening...my boyfriend's a big cheat!" she finishes in a loud voice.

Remaining rationally composed in spite of Keely's obvious distress, Via asks, "Did he tell you he has feelings for Sara?"

Keely leans her head back. "Ugh!" She looks back at Via who is waiting patiently. "He almost kissed her, Via!"

"Right. So, what stopped him?"

"What stopped what?"

Via sighs. "You said he _almost_ kissed her. Why didn't he follow through with his actions?"

Keely crosses her arms over her chest. "Well, I say it's 'cause I caught him before he could." She rolls her eyes. "But he claims he stopped himself."

"Did he?"

As the scene replays in her mind, Keely realizes he was telling her the truth. She saw it, but she didn't consider the way he pulled back at the last second as important... She was too shocked by the fact that his lips, lips that were supposed to be for her only, were mere centimeters from..._hers_. But now...

She shakes her head. "That's not the point!" She scoffs. "He _obviously_ had every intention of kissing her!"

"Perhaps."

"_Perhaps_!"

"Perhaps, you should consider the reason behind his intention."

Keely stares at her in horrified disbelief. "You mean _think_ about _why_ he _wanted_ to kiss her?"

"Yes," Via states evenly.

"No!" Keely interjects quickly. "I don't want to _think_ about it! I _know_ why he wanted to do it!"

"Why?"

"Hello!" Keely throws her hands in the air. "Remember my petty jealousies and insecurities?" She scoffs. "Not so petty now, huh?" She sighs. "Sara's practically _perfect_ for him." She frowns. "They're like kindred spirits or something."

"But..maybe that's not the real reason he 'almost' kissed her," Via offers.

Keely shrugs. "Then why would he?"

Via bites down on her lip carefully choosing her next words. "Keely...have you ever lost yourself in the moment?"

"You mean like..."

Via nods. "Have you ever been so caught up in an emotional moment that you felt compelled to go with it no matter what the potential consequences were?"

"Yeah...but..." She frowns and hangs her head as the notion starts to work on her. Is that what really happened? Did he just become so wrapped up in the moment that he temporarily lost his sanity? People claim that all the time, but...is it true? Even if it could be, one particular word Via said keeps her in doubt. Emotional. Whether Phil had lost himself in the moment or not, he still felt something for Sara...otherwise...how could he be so caught up in the first place?

"He still..." she says looking back up at Via as her white-hot anger slowly dissipates and the chill of heartbreak begins to settle in.

Via nods her head slightly. "I know," she says softly at the sight of her pain.

"I think...I need to be...alone now."

Without a word, only a sympathetic pat on the hand, Via quietly leaves the room. Keely falls back against her headboard and closes her eyes.

The sweet smell of chocolate-chip pancakes rises up from the kitchen. The bird outside her window chirps. The neighbor's car roars to life. The front door shuts. The dishwasher quietly vibrates. The downstairs stereo plays a faint indistinct tune.

And her heart breaks.


	9. Chapter 9

Once again, my mood is..strange..so (to me) this chapter seems kinda...odd...like the last one. Hmmm... This story is becoming _not_ what I really wanted, but I gotta get it out or it's gonna drive me insane. And I think I've been boycotted...well..no surprise really. 'Sad' seems to be the emotion of choice this time for some of you..but is that good or bad?

Anyway, thanks for the extra positive words!

Chapter 9

Trying to bite back his dread and fear, Phil slowly raises his fist to knock on the white door. He debated for nearly an hour to come here, but the curiosity inside him was threatening to explode into a raging fit if he didn't soon satisfy it.

He can hear the faint sounds of footfalls approaching to answer his knock, and the dread and fear is immediately replaced with a deep sense of regret. As the knob begins to turn, he sucks in a large gulp of air and tries not to faint from the rapidly decreasing amount of oxygen in his body.

As soon as the door opens to reveal the girl, he desperately wants to tightly shut his eyes against the look on her face.

"What are you doing here, Phil?"

He's surprised to not hear an ounce of venom laced in her voice; instead, she's apparently only genuinely curious about his sudden visit. As he opens his mouth to speak, she shakes her head and holds up her hand.

"Never mind," she says with a sigh. "She's not talking to you, is she?"

"No," he says sadly with a shrug. "And after the seventh call..." he says with a wince, "her mom got a little...impatient with me."

Via raises her eyebrow. "And you show up at _my_ door?"

"I don't have the courage to face her..." he replies uneasily as he rolls his shoulder back and grimaces.

She nods her head. "I see you value your life then."

That particular comment can only mean one thing...he's definitely, definitely in deep. He breathes out a defeated sigh. "You must hate me."

Via bites down on her lip in thought before she carefully replies, "No..."

The answer is enough to produce a small silver lining...but...

"I _should_ hate you, however..actually.. I'm just very disappointed in you."

Phil's face drops. She adds, "And surprised."

"Yeah, well...that makes two of us," he replies dejectedly.

Via crosses her arms over her chest and sighs. "I don't understand how you could do it." Phil opens his mouth to speak, but she interrupts him, all ready knowing what he intends to say. "Or almost, whichever." Her expression softens. "I've seen the effect she has on you... the way your very soul shines when you look at her."

Averting his eyes to his feet, Phil replies quietly, "What I did..." he says looking back up at her, "it wasn't intentional."

"I'm sure it wasn't," she says compassionately. After a beat, she adds, "Do you have feelings for Sara, Phil?"

He does. Whatever those feelings are exactly...the fact remains the same...but... "They're not like the feelings I have for Keely." The voice in his mind reminds him that his feelings for Keely have never been felt or never will be again...not with anyone else.

"Are they the kind of feelings worth sacrificing your relationship?"

Without hesitation, Phil firmly shakes his head. "No, my relationship with Keely means everything to me."

The conviction in his voice is unmistakable, but he still admits to having feelings for another girl regardless of that conviction. Via nods. "Then why do you like Sara?"

Phil sighs and glances up to the bright blue sky hoping that he'll somehow find the answer in between the feathery wisps of clouds. He hasn't been able to not think about that very question for some time now. Why _does_ he like Sara?

"I don't know...she..."

"Means enough to you for you to seriously consider acting on those feelings."

He stuffs his hands in his pockets. "Yeah...but as soon as I realized...she's not..."

"How did you feel then?"

"I felt.." he says slowly before shrugging his shoulders, "well, aside from the nausea I felt when I saw Keely standing there..." He shakes the image from his mind not wanting to recall the details right now. He sighs lightly and a trace of a smile plays on his lips. "I felt relieved."

Via raises her eyebrow. "Relieved," she repeats flatly.

Phil nods. "Yeah...like a light had finally been switched on." He chuckles softly as Via watches him curiously. "I was relieved to find out that...she doesn't mean anything to me at all...at least compared to what Keely means to me."

"So the near kiss didn't mean anything to you either?"

He shakes his head. "No, it meant something." Via furrows her brow as Phil shrugs. "In a way...it's the best thing that could have happened."

"Excuse me," Via replies as the protectiveness for her friend edges into her voice.

Phil laughs lightly at the sudden defensiveness in her posture. "I mean it made me realize..." He glances down at the door's threshold as the incredible emotion he feels right now just thinking about that realization temporarily numbs him. After a moment, he looks back up to meet Via's expectant expression as a wide smile spreads across his face.

"Keely's the only one I want." He adds softly, "She's the only one I need."

Via's face lights up with hope as he shrugs sheepishly. She nods her head. "You need to talk to her again, Phil."

Instantly, the fear returns. "How...is she?" he asks cautiously. "I mean..did she say anything ab--"

Via shakes her head and holds up her hand. "I'm not going to go into details out of respect for her privacy; however, I _will_ say that you've nearly destroyed all her faith in you, Phil."

His deadened heart dies all over again. She continues, "You betrayed her, took her for granted, and you shattered her belief that you're not like other people."

Phil furrows his brow, but Via doesn't notice as she adds, "To you or a complete stranger, what you've done or didn't do, may seem minuscule..." She sighs. "But to the girl whose heart you own, Phil..it means everything."

He opens his mouth to speak, but she interrupts again. "And I must warn you...this morning...she wasn't..." She shrugs. "Well, I'm sure you can imagine." Phil nods. "And that was just from the overwhelming anger." Phil drops his gaze. Via adds softly, "She hasn't even fully felt the heartbreak yet."

She pauses long enough for Phil to glance back up at her through his lashes. "But it will come, and I have a feeling it's going to be one of the most painful moments of her life."

Phil hangs his head. Via reaches out to rest her hand on his shoulder. "And that only proves how much you mean to her, Phil," she says softly as she gives him a sympathetic pat.

He lifts his head the slightest bit to meet her eyes. The hope residing there is enough to make him believe things just might work out after all.

Via steps back and crosses her arms over her chest again. "Now," she says firmly, "because Keely is my friend, I suggest you go home, think about what I've said, refrain from doing anything stupid..again...and tread lightly for a while."

Phil frowns, but her small smile encourages him a little. "Thanks, Via." He turns to leave, but glances over his shoulder with an uncertain expression on his face. "I think."

After spending the remainder of the day, and much of the night, trying to hold himself back from picking up the phone again, Phil followed Via's advice and thought about their conversation. But the idea that school resumed session tomorrow, and that he would inevitably cross paths with Keely at some point in the day since their schedules were built to revolve around each other, kept him from doing anything else.

The morning comes much too soon and his lack of sleep for the second night in a row is starting to interfere with his ability to function. After spilling the milk intended for his cereal bowl and not his lap, he had stumbled on the stairs on his way to change his pants. Barely escaping the house without another accident and his mother's persistent 'are you oks', he finally arrived at school.

Of course, she is the first thing he sees, but then again, she's really the _only_ thing he _ever_ sees. She's talking to Via at her locker with her backed turned toward him. At least she's not staring at him as he nervously walks through the halfway.

"Tread lightly," he whispers under his breath. "Tread lightly." He carefully watches his feet as he takes one soft step after another. "And refrain from stupid, refrain from stupid, refrain from stupid," he mutters the mantra as he glances up ahead through his lashes.

He receives more than a few strange looks, but he ignores them. His is intent on keeping his focus on the matter at hand...which is..don't screw things up any further.

He's a few feet away now, and she still hasn't spotted him. As he comes to a silent halt behind her, Via catches sight of him for the first time. Off her raised eyebrow and then the slightest shake of her head, Keely curiously turns around to see what has suddenly distracted her friend from their conversation.

"Hey," Phil replies warmly, and without too much nervousness, as soon as her eyes fixate on his own.

For a moment, she simply stares blankly at him. Against her will, she feels glad to see him. They haven't spent much time away from each other since they became...actually, they haven't spent much time away from each other ever. Mentally berating herself for letting him have such an effect on her, especially right now, she reinforces her guard and refuses to allow him even one second of believing things are not so bad between them. She can't let him think that. Not yet. Her heart's not ready.

His throat constricts effectively cutting off his air supply. Behind her, Via closes her eyes briefly. Phil takes a deep breath and opens his mouth to speak again, but Keely slowly steps around him and walks away.

"Um.." he squeaks out as his brain fails to trigger his voice to say anything more articulate. He solemnly looks over his shoulder at her retreating form before turning back to Via. "What...wha..."

Via sighs. "You didn't take my advice." She adds flatly, "Why?"

Phil scoffs. "I did so. Your advice was to refrain from doing anything stupid and to tread lightly for a while."

"So which part stumped you?" she asks dryly.

Furrowing his brow, Phil replies, "I said _hey_."

Via repositions her books in her arms. "Exactly," she says firmly. "My advice?" she asks raising her eyebrow. "In other words, stay _completely_ out of her way for _at least _three days."

Phil's eyes widen. "Then why didn't you just say that!" he exclaims in a loud voice that only earns him more suspicious looks which he continues to ignore.

Via sighs. "I did." She shrugs. "But unfortunately, for you, I temporarily forgot that the 16-year-old human male knows absolutely nothing about women."

He scoffs and throws his hands in the air. Via winces. "My apologies."

Phil rolls his eyes. "Too late now," he mutters. With a frown, he asks, "Three days?"

Via nods. "I'm afraid so."

He furrows his brow. "Why three?"

"Customarily, day one: emotional breakdown, day two: thoughtful reflection, day three: possible discussion." She holds up a finger. "_Possible_."

"Oh."

As she moves by him, she adds, "And I wouldn't wait longer than five."

Phil turns to look at her with even more confusion on his face. She explains with a shrug, "Otherwise, she'll think you've given up."

Still trying to decipher the meaning of what she just said, Phil sticks his hands in his pockets and slowly makes his way towards class with the rest of the unenthusiastic masses. Up ahead, he spots her...the brunette. He hasn't seen her since the night..and he was hoping to keep as much distance between them as possible, despite their seating arrangements in a particular class. But as she approaches him, all his hopes are lost forever.

However, he doesn't realize, she's thinking the same thing. Staving off the inevitable is never an easy task, but one can always confront it as if it's not even really there at all. Deciding the plan sounds good, Sara does exactly that as she averts her eyes and quickens her pace to move by him without a single acknowledgment of his presence.

Though initially confused by her reaction, Phil can't help but feel relieved that she apparently didn't want to talk to him anymore than he wanted to talk to her. Yet, the talk will come...maybe not today..which is probably best considering how fresh the situation is and the fact that he should most definitely speak to his girlfriend, assuming he still has one, about everything before talking to the 'other' girl...but, even as his talk with Keely will come, his talk with Sara will come too...for the sake of closure.

The remainder of the school day was awkward, nerve-racking, and incredibly long. Between avoiding the two girls, and trying to reassure Owen, once he realized that Phil was sitting with him at lunch and not Keely, that everything was going to be ok, and then attempting to explain his dilemma to his distraught friend, Phil is nearly dead on his feet as he slouches into the kitchen where his mom is all ready working on dinner. She watches him as he sluggishly takes a bottle of water from the refrigerator and drags himself back in the direction he came from.

"Phil."

He slowly turns around. "Yeah, Mom," he says solemnly.

She hides her smile at the sight of her son who, obviously, has something on his mind which he'd like to share with her, but he's waiting for her to engage him.

"Is everything all right?"

He dismisses her concern with a lazy wave of his hand. "I'm fine," he mumbles before turning around again.

"How are things between you and Keely?" she asks nonchalantly.

He immediately spins around to face her with a new breath of life in his expression and posture. "We're--" He furrows his brow in confusion. "Why would you ask that?"

His mom smiles softly. "I'm your mother, it's my job to know these things." She sighs as she sets her cooking utensils aside and moves a few steps in his direction. "Also, I couldn't help but notice your rather unusual attitude lately which, I must say, is in stark contrast to the one you've been sporting for quite some time now." She winks. "And I believe we're all aware of the cause for that."

Phil lowers his head and she asks, despite knowing the answer, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I messed up," he replies quickly as he looks back up at her.

"How's that?" she asks gently.

He sighs. "I don't know if I want to say..." He looks down at the floor. "I think I've all ready disappointed enough people."

"Honey," she says as he glances up at her, "I'm not going to be disappointed in you. The fact that you're obviously feeling very bad about whatever it is that you've done..." She sighs softly. "Phil, you have a big heart, and you would never intentionally disappoint or hurt anyone...but you're not perfect." She points a finger at him. "And no one expects you to be." She shrugs. "We all make mistakes."

"I know but..._my_ mistake...big..huge..mistake..." he replies quietly, "is another girl."

His mom nods. "This Sara girl you've been visiting?"

Phil quickly adds, "We were just friends."

"I didn't say anything, honey."

He looks down at the floor. "Right."

Encouraging him to continue, his mom asks, "Does Keely believe you two are just friends?"

Phil slowly shakes his head as he meets her eyes again. "She found a Christmas card that Sara gave me...and there was a letter inside..."

"I understand." His mom asks carefully, "And how do _you_ feel?"

Phil shrugs. "I like her...but Keely..." He shakes his head. "I don't want to be with Sara."

"Have you told her?"

"Who?"

"Sara."

He frowns. "Not in so many words."

"And Keely?"

He scoffs. "I didn't have to _tell_ her."

His mom nods in understanding. "Have you talked to her about this?"

"I tired," Phil replies with a heavy sigh, "but she won't even look at me." He shrugs. "Besides, today is 'thoughtful reflection' day."

His mom chuckles softly. "Oh, the old three-day-wait."

Phil crosses his arms over his chest. "Yeah," he scoffs. "Thanks for telling me about that when we had our 'boys and girls' talk."

"I'm sorry, honey," she replies trying to keep her composure and not crack up in his face. Phil raises his eyebrow at her and she sighs. "It just means she needs some time, that's all," she says reassuringly.

Phil scoffs. "Time." He rolls his eyes in irritation. "It's always about 'time'," he mutters. His mom furrows her brow. But as another thought occurs to him, Phil sighs and drops his arms to his sides. "I think...I broke her heart, Mom," he says sadly.

She nods sympathetically at the pained sound of her son's voice. "But time heals, Phil." She steps closer to him and looks down at him with a tenderness only a mother could have in her eyes. "Unfortunately, broken hearts often mend slowly..." she says softly, "but they _do_ mend."

He drops his gaze to the floor. She adds with a small smile, "Especially, with love."

Phil smiles to himself. Love. Well, if that's what it takes to mend Keely's broken heart...she'll be as good as new in no time. But suddenly, his smile fades to a frown as he realizes what tomorrow means. _Possible_ discussion. If she's open to the possibility, like he certainly is, then that discussion will happen. And if his mom really knows what she's talking about...well, hopefully, his love will be enough.


	10. Chapter 10

Yes, I was a tad concerned when I didn't hear from you guys. What would I do without your critiques :) I hate to be the type of person who needs others to push me forward ('cause it shows weakness I've been told), but I really do need a boost when it comes to writing ('cause of my insecurities which I'm sure I've mentioned before)

Really, I think the thing that boycotted me was my muse...I can do this without that, right? Maybe. I guess you guys are about to find out! I know I'm simply shaking from the anticipation! But really...this thing stopped heading in the direction I intended about..hmm..maybe five chapters ago. It just all kind of ended up this way...despite my attempts to interfere. And this particular chapter bothers me the most. However, I press on, but one of you might want to reconsider me as a contender for title of 'Awesomest...' and so on. (I wish you would invade my brain, spare me the agony) Also, I wrote this chapter with little sleep in me, so it could be a bit...off.

And I've never watched "Boy Meets World" but I'm sure my, obviously unoriginal, story has lots of 'been-there-done-that' moments. I'm not very imaginative; I'm more of a left-brain kind of girl...you know...facts, practicality, order...that kind of stuff.

Thanks everyone! You guys are awesome!

Chapter 10

Rays of sunlight stream through the lavender curtains of the small window to fall upon the girl staring into her own reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her thoughts consume her, and her current everyday routine is forgotten. A light flow of water trickles from the faucet; her un-rinsed sparkled toothbrush rests limply in her hand.

On the outside, she is motionless. On the inside, she is unsettled.

Suddenly, Keely becomes aware of the sound of the running water. Blinking slowly, she quickly finishes up her tasks. Pausing briefly, she straightens her shoulders and lifts her chin the slightest bit as she looks at herself in the mirror.

"Ok..." she breathes out with a nod of her head.

And with that last assertion, she's ready to begin the day.

Standing near her locker, but not too near, Phil rocks on his heels and anxiously glances about the increasingly populated hallway. A disturbance near the water fountain distracts him momentarily, but then, as he turns his head to look at her locker for the fiftieth time in less than four minutes, he sees her.

And this time..she sees him.

For a moment, they stare into each other's eyes as the rest of the world around them fades into shades of grey. He's more nervous than ever. She's more certain than ever.

Naturally, as if drawn magnetically, Phil moves towards her. And equally as naturally, Keely moves towards him. They come to a stop meeting each other halfway.

Phil shakes his head at the absurdity of their actions, which is not lost on Keely either. They both offer small smiles simultaneously.

"That was.."

"Theatrical."

Keely nods as her smile slowly fades while Phil looks down at his feet. "We need to talk, Phil," she says quietly as a small audience begins to gather. Glancing at their curious faces, Keely begins to feel self-conscious and embarrassed. However, a tiny bit of pride deep within cannot be denied in light of the fact that their relationship is, obviously, well-known and, apparently, well-documented.

But Phil is oblivious to the spectators; the only thing he can focus on is his hope that Keely's words infer something positive. Cautiously, he raises his head to look at her again and asks, "My house?"

She shakes her head. He shrugs slightly. "Your house?"

She shakes her head again. "Neutral ground." Phil nods somewhat timidly as he wonders about why the need for such a thing. "Meet me at the park at 4:30."

"Absolutely," he replies firmly. Keely allows her gaze to linger on his face for a quick moment before she softly clears her throat. Immediately, the on-lookers disperse in nonchalance. As she starts to turn around, Phil reaches out a hand to lay upon her arm, but he retracts before making contact. She catches the movement and regards him with an unreadable expression. He swallows. "Keely, I--"

But she holds up her hand to stop the rest of whatever he was going to say from ever having the chance to be heard. "Not here, Phil," she says in a quiet voice as she flicks her eyes over at the loitering few.

He glances that way. "Right." He looks back at her. "Park. 4:30."

With a slight nod of her head to confirm their arrangements once more, Keely turns around and moves back to her locker. A puff of air escapes from between Phil's lips as he mentally thanks the heavens for a civil interaction and relatively hopeful expectations.

The bright, clear morning sky has been covered with a low-altitude layer of gray clouds by the time Keely reaches the park. A few young children play on the jungle-gym, but the area is mostly empty. As she strolls along looking for a suitable place to sit, a place that will soon be home to what is sure to be one of the most difficult conversations she'll ever have, a light breeze flutters the dried, brown leaves at her feet. She pauses briefly to watch them swirl and dance around her before they float back to the ground as the life-giving wind moves on.

A quiet creak draws her attention. The red and yellow merry-go-round slowly spins as the breeze drifts by. A smile tugs at the corners of her lips as the memory of a very happy time comes to mind. The innocence of that day seems so far away now, and that saddens her. How did they begin in childish whims and end up here?

And the kiss. The moment, exactly what Phil had said it would be, was her only care in the world. Oh, how she could have easily passed into nothingness in that blissful second when their lips touched and, for the briefest time, they shared a single breath.

But now...revealing her 'happiest of happy laugh', and wondering about when a kiss will come, and swinging high up into the air with her...everything...beside her, and believing that these things last forever...

Her thoughts leave her as she looks down to where her fingertips gently rake across the chipped paint on the merry-go-round. Without her conscious awareness, she came to sit upon the cool metal surface. And as her mind attempts to return to the past, the soft crunching of leaves sounds behind her.

"I'm not pushing," Phil says softly in a playful tone as the memories flood his own mind.

Keely turns her head to look at him as he slowly walks around the merry-go-round to stand in front of her. The warm expression on his face and the gentleness in his eyes flutters her heart. The tingling sensation momentarily surprises her despite its familiarity.

Phil glances down at the space next to her before raising his eyebrows, silently seeking her permission. She nods her head and as he moves to sit, her senses are heightened considerably by his close proximity. Wondering if his presence suddenly has such an effect on her due to their previous experience in this spot, Keely casually shifts a few inches to the right. And just as suddenly, she wishes she would've chosen to sit upon the much more indifferent and much less complicated bench.

Phil notices the extra distance she tried to subtly put between them; though, he pretends not to. Instead, he tries to find something meaningful to say to her right now, but as the tension between them grows, he just wishes he could say anything at all. Looking down at the sandy earth at his feet, he admits quietly, "I'm not..sure how to do this."

Keely, feeling the same doubt, glances over at him. "Yeah."

He shrugs and clasps his hands together in his lap. "I've never been here before."

As he lifts his gaze to her face, Keely shakes her head. "Well, don't look at me." She toes the dirt distractedly and looks out at the joyful expressions of the children chasing each other down the sidewalk leading away from where they sit. A blonde girl in pigtails sticks her tongue out at a dark-haired boy as he circles her and playfully taunts her with a small frog in his hands. Their carefree attitudes make her long for a time when boys were gross, and therefore, could never break your heart.

Phil watches her in fascination as the ghost of a smile plays upon her lips and her eyes shine with delight. The light breeze sweeps a few stray strands of blonde across her face and she automatically pushes them back into place as she turns her head to meet his gaze.

"Maybe...you could start with...why," she offers uneasily.

His brow furrows slightly as the particular word weighs on his mind. "Why," he repeats quietly.

Keely sighs lightly. "Do you like Sara?"

"No," he replies quickly. "I have absolutely no interest in being with Sara," he says firmly as he uses hand gestures to emphasize his point.

His confession is like music to her ears, but it's lost somewhere between her auditory canal and her brain. "So...you almost kissed someone you don't even..." She sighs and looks ahead again. "I don't know if I feel better or worse."

Phil glances down at his lap and slowly rubs his hands together as a light gust of wind rustles by them. "I did," he begins quietly, "like her." Keely cuts her eyes over at him cautiously as the old 'pang' returns to her chest. Phil glances up at her and she can see how lost is he in the depths of his dark eyes. "I don't know, Keely...it's hard to explain."

She nods. "Can you try? Please?" she asks softly. "'Cause I need to know if..." She shakes her head. "Is it because...I mean...is she more...attractive than me?" she asks meekly.

"Keely..." Phil says with a light in his eyes as he gazes at her with soft intensity. "You are th--"

"Or is it that she's so much smarter than me?" Keely asks as she self-consciously looks down at her feet. Phil frowns and opens his mouth to speak, but she interrupts him with a small, timid voice. "'Cause I could understand if you'd want someone who is s--"

He shakes his head. "Keely, I don't care ab--"

She shrugs her shoulders in frustration and looks back at him. "Just tell me, Phil," she says with a tired sigh.

For a moment, he stares at her in disbelief. Then, his lips twitch as a smile threatens to appear. "I'm trying to."

"Oh. Right." She hangs her head in embarrassment.

Phil stifles his chuckle and says her name in a way that commands her attention, yet expresses the greatest gentleness at the same time. "Keely." He smiles. "You could have the IQ of a 6-year-old for all I care." He shrugs. "It doesn't matter to me if you're good in math or science or any other meaningless school subject."

She attempts to turn her head away from him, but the quiet quality to his tone keeps her locked right on his penetrating gaze. "What matters is... _you_."

Without any self-control or conscious effort, he reaches out to smooth back a lock of hair that has fallen from its place behind her ear. The faint brush of his warm fingertips to her cool cheek sends a shiver through her entire body. Her eyes briefly flutter closed, and Phil slowly pulls his hand back to rest in his lap again.

He says gently, "All those little things inside you that make you...Keely..." The corner of his lips turn upwards in a lopsided half-smile. "_That_...is what matters to me."

Her breath catches in her throat at the sound of those spoken words. Phil lowers his head and leans just the slightest bit forward as he glances up at her through his lashes.

"And _no one_.." he says with the shine of awe in his eyes, "is more beautiful to me than you are."

The air she'd managed to grab onto after his last heartfelt confession, once more, lodges itself within her. Shyly, she averts her eyes to the ground again. Her heart beats out a song of joy, but even the most special person in the world telling her things any girl would long to hear, is not enough to assuage her uncertainties.

"If.." she says as her voice falters slightly. She expels the breath she's been involuntarily holding and mentally prepares herself to look back into his eyes. "If all that is true..." she says more steadily now drawing strength from deep within, "then why would you want to kiss her, Phil?" she finishes with a hint of sadness laced with that steadiness.

Inwardly cringing from the inflection in her voice, Phil tries to explain, "Because...I thought..." He shakes his head. "No..I did feel something for her, but...it wasn't...what I expected it to be." He sighs as his inability to properly verbally communicate his thoughts to her frustrates him. After taking a few seconds to contemplate the scattered fragments in his mind, Phil continues.

"I found something in my friendship with Sara." He shrugs. "Like something I wasn't even aware that I was missing."

Keely furrows her brow unsure of how that notion affects her. "What does that mean?" she asks carefully.

Phil lifts his chin to look up into the gloomy overcast sky. He wants to make her understand. He wants to make himself understand. But every time he's tried to figure out how and why the brunette girl can strike such feelings in him, he comes up empty handed. Still...for Keely...he has to find a way.

"Ever since I met her," he beings with a sigh as he looks back at her, "I've felt this...connection..." he says uneasily as a small frown appears on her face. "I've never understood it," he adds quickly hoping to quell some of her worry, "or where it comes from."

She swallows back her fear of knowing the answer to her question. "What kind of...connection?"

Phil sighs heavily. "I don't know." Keely sighs too. He shakes his head against the struggle to dredge up that explanation she deserves to hear. "It feels...familiar," he says honestly. "And comfortable."

Keely frowns. "I don't make you comfortable?" she asks quietly.

"Yes," he replies without hesitation, but she doesn't seem so convinced. "You create...loads..of comfort, Keely." She looks away. Phil sighs, once again frustrated with what is becoming quite routine for him..not saying the right thing.

A thought occurs to her, and she turns back to look at him. "Did you tell her?"

"What?" Phil asks in confusion.

"If she's so comfortable and easy to talk to..." Keely shrugs and asks again with a sharpness to her tone, "Did you tell her your secret then?"

He stares at her in disbelief and wonder of why she'd raise such a question in the first place. "Well?" she asks impatiently trying to conceal the fact that his delay in answering is starting to make her feel suspicious and worrisome. Not to mention...hurt.

Phil shakes his head finally coming back to the moment. "No," he says more than a little bothered by her thinking he'd ever share something so important with anyone else. Or even could. And not because he's afraid or because he's not supposed to...but because there is no one else on the planet he'd ever trust enough.

Keely shrugs. "Well," she scoffs. "How comfortable can a girl be if you won't even tell her your deepest secret?"

More than slightly offended by her careless remark, Phil replies with a huff, "Obviously not anywhere near how comfortable the girl I _did_ tell my deepest secret to is."

He adds with a smirk, "And, at the time, I hadn't known you any longer than I've known her." He scoffs and looks away from her. "How's that for comfort," he mutters under his breath.

Looking off into the distance, at anything to keep him from seeing the guilt in her eyes, Keely folds her hands in her lap and fights the urge to apologize to him for accusing him of...wait...she doesn't have to feel sorry about a thing. She turns back to him and narrows her eyes.

"Then tell me what sets her apart from me, Phil."

He quickly looks back at her. "What are you talking about?"

Keely stands up and steps in front of him. Crossing her arms over her chest and pinning him down with a defiant glare, she asks, "Why did you spend nearly everyday just talking...as you so claim," she mumbles, "with a girl, who is by your own admission, not 'anywhere near how comfortable' your girlfriend is!" she finishes in a loud shout.

Phil stares at her incredulously as she puts a hand on her hip waiting for his reply. He shakes his head not quite believing how she's overreacting to such an insignificant part of the real reason why they met here today in the first place.

"Keely.." he begins calmly hoping that the effect will rub off on her and keep this from escalating into a full-blown argument. "I'm not going to make a list to compare you and Sara."

The expression on her face immediately shoves his foot into his mouth. He winces regretfully. "What I meant to say was th--"

"Phil," she says in a deadly serious tone that warns him not to finish his sentence if his health means anything to him.

But he stands up to meet her face-to-face, unwavering in his goal to make her, for just this one time, wait silently and listen to what he has to say despite the emotions raging within her.

"Keely," he says in a tone matching her own.

For a few moments, neither of them move or speak as they engage in a staring contest to end all. As the situation and their behavior dawns on him, Phil is the first to break.

He shakes his head. "This is ridiculous!" he exclaims throwing his hands in the air.

But Keely doesn't budge an inch. Phil looks back at her with a softer expression. "Keely," he repeats in a gentle voice this time. He sighs. "Listen..." Off her unflinching glare, he adds meekly, "Please."

After a beat, she gives in. "Fine," she breathes out as she not-so-gently shoves him out of the way and slumps back down onto the merry-go-round.

Phil rolls his eyes before turning to face her where she sits with her legs crossed as she inspects her nails. He sighs lightly. "Nothing sets Sara apart from you, Keely."

Her head snaps up immediately. "Excuse me?"

He shakes his head. "No, no, no..don't jump to conclusions..just..let me finish..ok?"

She gives no indication one way or another to her being 'ok' with that. Phil continues on regardless. "_You_ are set apart from _her_."

Clearly, the idea is favorable. Phil mentally sighs in relief. "And I'll tell you why."

Keely shrugs casually despite her curiosity clawing to know just that. He explains, "You make me comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time." Her brow furrows. He smiles softly. "Do you know how many people have had that effect on me?"

She shakes her head. He replies holding up a finger, "One." After receiving no reaction from her, he adds, "That's you."

She nods. Phil sighs and continues. "And, likewise, you frustrate me, anger me, sadden me, and everything else a person can possibly feel..you do to me." He lowers himself down to her eye-level. "And you make me incredibly...no..." He shakes his head. "No, you make me happier than I could ever describe."

Her heart leaps in her chest as all her bitterness and sorrow evaporates into thin air leaving nothing but pure joy in their place. Phil wants to take her hand in his, but he decides that gesture may be pushing things right now. Instead, he offers her the remainder of his explanation that has finally, though probably not as adequately as she would like, crawled its way to the surface of the murky depths that have become his mind over the last few days.

"I know that my feelings about her don't make much sense to you, Keely, but they don't make much sense to me either. I wish it was simple, black and white, but it's not."

She lowers her gaze. He adds softly, "But it _is_ the truth."

"Well," she says quietly as she looks back into his eyes. "I guess I have no choice but to accept that then."

Phil raises his eyebrows. "Really?" he asks hopefully.

Keely furrows her brow. "You didn't think I would?"

He shrugs. "Actually...I wasn't sure if you would forgive me or not."

She shakes her head. "This isn't about forgiveness."

His face drops as does his heart. "It's not?"

"It's acceptance," she says quietly.

"But..you don't...forgive me?" he asks sadly.

"I want to...it just...hurts," she replies in much the same manner.

"Keely, I--"

She shakes her head and furrows her brow. "Why didn't you just tell me? Why couldn't you have been honest with me?" She looks down at her hands resting in her lap. "You should have told me that you were feeling..that way..about her."

Phil frowns. "Tell my girlfriend I have feelings for another girl?"

Keeping her eyes hidden from him, she shrugs. "We tell each other everything," she says quietly.

"We _did_, Keely," he replies softly.

She glances back up to meet his eyes. "So...what you're saying is that being a couple means we automatically start lying to each other?"

"I didn't lie to y--" He stops himself from going down that road and sighs. "It's different."

Keely scoffs. "How?"

Phil slowly stands back up. "Because...people don't tell the person they're dating that they have feelings for someone else...unless they intend to break up with them."

"You never wanted to break up with me?" Keely asks cautiously.

He shakes his head. "No. Never."

She furrows her brow. "So..you just wanted to what?" She crosses her arms in her lap. "Have your cake and eat it too?"

Phil sighs again. "No, Keely I--"

She stands up abruptly causing him to step back in order to avoid a collision. "See? This is _exactly_ what I feared," she says shaking her head.

"What are you talking about?" Phil asks carefully.

"I thought you were different, Phil," she says with a hint of disappointment. "I just _knew_ you were."

Phil is utterly confused despite the faint ringing of a bell in his head. "I...don't know what you mean."

Keely brushes back some loose strands of hair from her face as the wind steadily picks up speed. "I never imagined _you_ to do something like that."

He scoffs as he finally grasps the meaning behind her words. "I ruined your...ideal image of me and you just say 'forget the whole thing'?" He crosses his arms over his chest defensively. "I'm sorry I can't be perfect for you, Keely, but I--"

She holds up her hand. "But you are, Phil." She glances down at their footprints in the sandy dirt. "You _are_ perfect for me." She meets his eyes again. "Even still." She sighs. "I've been burned before, but the way you..." She shakes her head. "I won't feel the kind of pain you can make me feel...not with anyone else...not ever."

His entire body stiffens from the tightness her words have created in him, in his chest, in his throat, in his stomach. He can just barely inhale enough air to keep himself from passing out.

"And I get that now. I get why that is."

He blinks slowly and tries to focus on her voice, soothing against the ache in him to satisfy his desire to wrap her in his arms and never let go.

"You really do mean everything to me, Phil," she says softly as she lowers her head slightly before looking at him again. "Everything from perfect happiness...to perfect heartache."

At the smallest hint of pain in her voice, Phil's heart commands him to say the three words that he's been wanting, and trying to say on several occasions, ever since the possibility that he might have missed his opportunity had arisen four nights ago. But he never has the chance.

"And now...I realize that being in love with you is a lot for me to take, and I don't know if I can handle all of that," she says slowly as she tries to figure out this new development that has caught her off guard.

Phil stares at her as the heaviness of dread settles squarely upon his chest. Keely adds above a whisper, "Not right now, anyway."

"Not right n..." he voice fails him as he tries to reaffirm what she had just spoken.

"Maybe we should..."

His heart pounds fiercely as the endless possibilities of how she could ever finish that one little sentence rush through his mind.

"...be friends..."

Without hesitation, he firmly shakes his head. "I can't be your friend again, Keely. Not after..." Once again, his voice refuses to cooperate as the emotions nearly become more than he can physically withstand.

"That's all I'm offering you...Phil..." Keely finds a similar difficulty in controlling her own voice. "If we can't be that...then maybe...right now...we shouldn't be anything."

"But I--"

"I'm gonna...go.."

As she slowly moves by him, Phil lays a desperate hand on her arm. "Keely, I--"

"I'm sorry, Phil." She gently slips away from his touch. "I don't want to hurt you, but I just can't say the things you need to hear to make you feel better." Dropping her gaze to where his warm hand rested seconds ago, she repeats softly, "I just can't."

Walking away from him, walking away from the only person she could have sworn to never be able to walk away from, Keely blinks back the tears. Tears of pain. Tears of confusion. Tears for herself. And tears for him.

Staring at the ground, staring at the spot where the only person he's ever loved and never told, Phil fights back the tears. Tears of despair. Tears of defeat. Tears for himself. And tears for her.

The chilly breeze whips through the empty park, but a light warmth graces his cheek. Becoming aware of the sensation, Phil lifts his hand to graze the skin there. He notices the sunlight bouncing off his arm. He looks up into the gray expanse above as a small break in the thick cover of clouds permits a single ray of sunlight to shine down upon him.

And as a thought enters his mind, a thought he hadn't given any attention to, a thought that was lost in the midst of his emotional fog, he suddenly cannot distinguish between the warmth from the sun on his face and the warmth from the words she had spoken to his heart. The words were brief, and subtle, and most likely unintentional, but they were voiced nonetheless.

And in spite of everything, they are his hope.


	11. Chapter 11

Apparently, I write better in a semi-comatose state? We do have to work this way, don't we? Three cheers for the left-brainers! So, from your review, I take it...you liked pretty much the whole chapter? Works for me.

Best break-up ever? I'm not sure how that reflects on me in light of my pro-Pheely status. And, yes, this thing is a monster.

Yes, can't make the 'shippers angry, 'cause that includes me. :) However, they may be...ahh..shouldn't say that yet.

This chapter has greatly irritated me, but I don't know what else to do with it. I tried. I failed. Something about the flow of things... I'm off my game, I guess. But if I edit it anymore, my head will explode. Hopefully the next chapter and the one after that and the one after that and so on...will be better. And also, I realize Keely didn't tell Phil about what they are going to talk about, you'll see when you scroll on down, and...well never mind..that doesn't even make much sense.

Thanks for the very kind words, everyone! You all are still awesome!

Chapter 11

Shirts fly from the open drawers to land haphazardly onto the bedroom floor. Another drawer opens to reveal neatly folded...

"Oh, ugh!" Pim slaps her hand over her eyes as she quickly attempts to slam the drawer shut. "Are they gone?" she fearfully asks herself out loud. Carefully peeking through her fingers at where the offensive articles of clothing rest, she grimaces at the sight of them through the small crack left when the drawer had stubbornly refused to shut.

"Gross," she mutters as she pushes against the drawer with her hip.

"Pim, if you want a pair of my boxers, all you have to do is ask."

She grunts her disgust and bangs against the drawer one more time with all her weight. Finally, she succeeds in closing the gap, and she looks at her brother who is standing in his doorway staring at her with a dull expression.

"What are you doing?" he asks as he gestures to the floor now covered with his clothes.

She shrugs. "Lookin' for the New-Ager."

Phil bends down to retrieve his shirts. "Yeah, well, I don't have it."

Pim nods. "I figured that much after searching everywhere."

Her brother tosses the rumpled clothes onto his bed. "Don't you mean, after you destroyed everything searching everywhere?"

She waves him off. "This room is way too organized anyway." She smiles sweetly. "Just think of it as a free favor." As she walks to the door, she adds over her shoulder, "You can thank me later, it's ok."

Phil rolls his eyes and continues scooping up his belongings. As Pim watches him for a few seconds enjoying the frown on his face and his low mutters of displeasure, she notices something hanging on the wall above his bed.

Her first instinct is to roll her eyes as she recognizes the calendar and remembers its purpose, but then she notices something different about it. Squinting her eyes to examine it more closely, she notices the absence of a red 'X' on the most recent few white squares.

Phil catches her standing in the doorway out of the corner of his eye. He straightens and raises his eyebrow at her. "What?"

She furrows her brow. "Not that I particularly care but..." She gestures to the calendar with a nod of her head as she crosses her arms over her chest. "What's up with that?"

Looking in the direction she denoted, Phil sees the calendar and sighs. The blank spaces have been a daily constant reminder. "Nothing," he mumbles as he glances back at his sister with a shrug.

She raises her eyebrow. "Doesn't look like nothin'."

"Thought you didn't care?" he asks flatly.

She shrugs. "Yeah, well...I don't," she says in a bored tone. Then, her expression softens a bit, which surprises him. "You and blon--" She rolls her eyes. "I mean, you and _Keely_ aren't 'together' anymore?"

Phil sighs and looks back at the calendar. He's asked himself that question at least a million times. His mind tells him 'no' given the facts, but his heart doesn't quite accept that. He glances back at his sister without a word. They may be the thorns in each others' sides, but she's still his sister. He doesn't have to tell her. The look in his eyes is all the proof she needs.

"So, are you going to take it down?"

He shakes his head gently. She scoffs lightly. "Why not? It's nothing more than a symbol of a foregone conclusion now." She looks at the calendar again and shivers. "Plus, those kittens terrorize my dreams."

A small smile plays on his lips despite his sour mood. Leave it to Pim, of all people, to infuse some humor back into him during such a moment.

He shrugs. "I guess I'm just--"

"In denial?"

He frowns. "No, I'm--"

"Holding onto false hopes?"

He sighs. "Pim."

She holds up her hands. "All right, I'm leavin'." She turns to do just that, but faces him one more time. "So what did you do to her anyway?"

Phil frowns again. "What makes you think _I'm_ the one who did something to _her_?"

Pim laughs. Her brother is not so amused. She clears her throat as her smile fades. "Oh, you were serious."

He points to the doorway. Pim nods her head and disappears from his sight. Phil's eyes travel to the calendar again. And he realizes what he must do. He just hopes it'll work.

But before he can formulate the details of his plan, his mom pokes her head into his room. "You have a visitor, Phil."

"Keely?" he asks hopefully, though he's pretty positive she wouldn't be here to see him.

His mom shakes her head gently. "No," she says compassionately. "It's Sara."

Phil suddenly feels slightly ill. His mom adds before leaving him to prepare for the other conversation, the one he really doesn't want to have, "She's waiting outside."

By the time he reaches the front steps, his small discomfort has become an overwhelming urge to dive into the bushes.

Standing on the walkway, Sara hears the door open and turns to greet him with a forced smile. "Hey, Phil."

He utters a quiet, "Hey."

She puts her hands into her jacket pockets. "So..I was thinking that you would eventually show up at my curb."

Phil sighs and steps down. "Yeah...me too."

"But then I realized you probably have other things on your mind."

He nods and replies softly, "Yeah."

"How...is she all right?" Sara asks carefully.

Phil furrows his brow. "She's..."

Sara scoffs lightly at her own question. "Never mind." She smiles meekly. "That inquiry was pretty much..not necessary, huh?"

He winces. She shrugs trying to roll the awkwardness off her shoulders. "You know, I actually thought about trying to talk to her first, but then I thought that probably wouldn't be the best move."

"Probably not."

She clears her throat. "Phil...I've noticed, as basically the entire student body has, that you and Keely don't..."

"Speak to or even look at each other anymore?"

"Yeah, that's it."

He hangs his head. "Well..."

Sara asks gently, "You two broke up?"

While he had never really considered them to be 'broken-up', the idea is starting to become glaringly and unavoidably clear to him. He mentally laughs at himself for being so ignorant to the fact. Keely said if they couldn't be friends, they couldn't be anything. Well, they certainly weren't very friendly lately, so the nothing they've become seems to be the only remaining option. But how can they be nothing at all? It's not possible. He can't spend nearly every second of each day for two years fully consumed by her and then pretend that nothing is all that is left. How does everything become nothing?

He looks back at her solemnly. She nods her head. "I'm sorry, Phil." She sighs. "I know that doesn't mean much to you right now, but I really am. I never meant to hurt you..or Keely."

He shakes his head. "What happened isn't your fault, Sara. It's mine."

She scoffs. "I think I had a hand in it too, Phil." Averting her eyes to the ground near his feet, she adds, "I mean, I'm the one who'd be dead right now if her looks could kill."

In a way, the notion that Keely feels that way towards this girl is somewhat...satisfying. He shakes his head to clear away the inappropriate thought and feeling.

"Sara..I know you--"

"Want to be with you?"

Her bluntness startles him. "Um...yeah."

She chuckles. "It's true..obviously..but I understand that you don't really feel the same way." She furrows her brow. "Even though you said that you do feel..." She shakes her head. "I know you don't."

"I did..."

She shrugs. "I believe that..but I also believe that you're...madly in love with her."

He's certainly that. A small smile creeps onto his face as he gazes off into space thinking of the overwhelming amount of truth that little statement holds.

Sara tries to be happy for him; she really wants to be happy for him. He means that much to her. But still she feels sad. And jealous of the love he feels for Keely, the kind of love she so desperately wants him to feel for herself. But that will never happen. And she knew that the first time she saw them together with that love shining in his eyes like the light of a thousand suns.

The day is still vividly clear in her mind. It's been a haunting image plaguing her nights and days for weeks now. Two days after meeting this wonderful boy, she had her first bitter taste of just how madly in love he is with Keely. She was walking towards a classroom she had no clue of the exact location of when she spotted a familiar, the only familiar face in this new town, up ahead. His face was brightened by a wide grin. But the smile was for the girl excitedly jumping up and down in front of him. As she moved closer to them, she could hear his soft laughter. And when the girl leaned in to lightly brush his smooth cheek with her lips, he had momentarily closed his eyes to enjoy the peace. And as the girl had pulled away from him, he immediately pulled her back into a tender embrace. And when he had pressed his own lips to the girl's cheek, a teacher walked by and scolded them for their public display of affection.

And as the teacher moved on after a short lecture, they had stifled their laughter and parted ways with the lingering gazes of young love. And that's when he looked at her. She averted her eyes to the glossy floor, but he approached her anyway. From the lost expression on her face, he had warmly offered to help her find her way. She gratefully accepted and smiled in spite of the ache.

That was her first glimpse into the heart of Phil Diffy. And, along with it, she discovered that it belonged to someone else.

Shaking herself from her reverie, she notices he's watching her curiously. She shrugs. "And I guess there isn't anything left to say."

He feels sad. A good friendship is lost before it could ever be explored. And he feels guilty. A girl, a special girl with so many things to offer to someone, loves him and all he can do is watch her heart break. All he can do is hope that she finds a love of her own. Even if Keely never...he couldn't possibly ever give this girl the kind of love she deserves to have. He just doesn't have it in him. Not for her.

He wants to reassure her somehow, but he knows it's not going to help. He never wanted to hurt her. But there's nothing he can do to make things better for her or to make things better between them.

There really isn't anything left to say. The look in his eyes says it all. Without another spoken word, the conversation is over and forgotten, lost in time and space. Forever. They can't be in love; they can't be friends. They can't be anything.

And as she comes to understand that, so does he. The irony strikes him in the heart like a blow from a sharp blade. He can't be anything with her...he can't be anything with Keely. That kind of realization should speak volumes about a person, but it falls on deaf ears. He may not be able to be anything with the girl before him, but he will be something with Keely. He has to or the very breath in his body loses all purpose.

Slowly, Sara walks away from him for the last time. And, with nothing else that he can do, Phil watches her go.

Meanwhile, another girl is trying to figure out how to cope with all-things Phil Diffy. Stretched out on her stomach on her friend's bed, Keely buries her face in her hands and grumbles.

"We haven't spoken to each other in days, Via." She looks back up at the brunette. "Does that seem like friendship to you?"

She shakes her head. "I didn't ask if you two are still friends; I asked if you believe you ever can be again." Via shrugs slightly. "And well, no, not speaking to each other doesn't seem like friendship, but...is friendship really what you want from him, Keely?"

She frowns. "No," she replies quietly as she looks down at the random patterns on the quilt and lightly traces them with her finger. She sighs. "I just..." She looks back up at Via. "When it hit me like that..I-I didn't know what to do." She scoffs. "It's not like I've got a lot of experience with these things."

"It scared you."

"Yes, as in to death."

"More like..into saying something you didn't really mean to say."

She frowns again. "Unfortunately, that's more accurate."

"Keely," Via begins slowly, "no offense, but I think you were just looking for an easy way out."

"What do you mean?" she asks furrowing her brow and trying not to sound offended at all.

Via replies carefully, "Phil isn't some schoolgirl crush, Keely."

The crease in her forehead deepens along with her confusion. "Huh?"

"Your feelings for him are deep and complex; therefore," she says holding out her hands as if the answers Keely needs reside there, "you can't have an easy out."

Beginning to understand what that means, Keely slowly pushes herself up to a sitting position. And as her mind replays the conversation she had with Phil a few nights ago, she wishes things would have gone differently. She wishes she hadn't let some ridiculous fear keep her from saying what she really wanted to say to him. She wishes she was mature enough to handle real emotions and real relationships. But, that's life. It's cruel. It's difficult. But, hopefully, she's learning. And, hopefully, the damage sustained during the process isn't permanent.

The shrill ringing of her cell phone interrupts her thoughts and causes her to jump slightly. She looks over to her bag resting on the bed several inches away from her, but she doesn't make any move to answer it as it rings for the second time..and the third.

Via raises her eyebrow. "Are you going to get that?"

Keely shakes her head. "Whoever it is can leave a message." She looks at the window until the sixth, and final, ring ends. Quickly, she reaches over and grabs her bag. Rummaging through it, she searches for the very thing she had just nonchalantly ignored.

Via rolls her eyes in amusement at her predictability. Finding the phone at last in the endless jumble of various and random items that fill her small handbag, Keely quickly flips it open.

"Hmph."

"What is it?" Via asks curiously.

Keely tosses the phone back into its place and turns to Via. "Phil."

"What's his message?"

She sighs. "He wants me to come to his house tonight."

"And?"

She shrugs and distractedly plays with the strap on her bag.

"Keely, do you want Phil?" Via asks evenly.

Without a second of hesitation, she looks up and replies with a firm, "Very much."

Via smiles softly. "Then go and get what's yours for the taking." Keely smiles, and Via adds more seriously, "It's going to be hard, and it will hurt, but that's how you know it's real."

Her smile fades, and Via suppresses a chuckle. Keely tries to even out the wrinkles down the front of her shirt and straightens her spine. "All right." She nods her head confidently. "I can do this."

Via stands and holds her hand out before her in the direction of the door. Keely stares at it for a moment before turning back to her friend with much less self-assurance now.

"Can you come with me?"

Via laughs lightly and shakes her head. Keely rolls her eyes. "How do you always know..." She waves her hands in the air. "Everything?" she asks slightly irritated.

"It's a gift," Via replies with a straight face.

Inside the Diffy's garage, sounds of various tools being dropped and clanged against metal echo in the small space. Phil slowly steps inside and peers into the semi-darkness.

"Uh..Dad?"

"Yeah, Phil?"

Trying to find the source of his father's voice, Phil furrows his brow. "Why are the lights off?"

A shadowy figure approaches from his right. "I'm watching for the spark."

"The...spark?"

His dad flips his welder's helmet up. "When the..."

Phil glances down at the glowing digits on his watch as his dad catapults into another lengthy ramble of how if he could just do this and if the time engine would just do that, then he could tweak this thing enough to make that other thing do the thing it's supposed to do.

But his explanation doesn't register in Phil's brain; his thoughts are solely focused on not losing track of the time as he anxiously awaits to see if Keely has received his message and accepted its terms.

"And then we can go home," his dad finishes excitedly with an assertive nod and a toothy smile of self-satisfaction.

But Phil didn't hear that either.

"Phil?"

He blinks at the wave of a hand in front of his face. "Yeah, that's...great, Dad," he says pretending to have any clue about what his father just said. "So, can I take your Skyak for a spin?"

His dad shrugs. "Sure." He digs into his pocket. "Where're you headed?" he asks as he tosses the ball to Phil.

He expels a long breath. "Hopefully...I'm taking Keely out."

"Keely, huh?" He nods. "So you need the leather then," he dad says raising his eyebrows. "Going anywhere special?"

"I think so," Phil replies with a smile. Of course, he thinks, anywhere with Keely is special.

"Ok, well, have a good time." His dad's face is covered with the mask again as he moves back to where the time engine rests.

Walking out into the backyard, Phil sees a very welcomed sight standing before him.

"You came," he says softly with a mix of surprise and relief in his voice.

Her mind replays the conversation she had with Via. After spending the last few days wrapped in her thoughts trying to discern between her emotional impluses and her cognitive reasoning, she was in desperate need of advice. And who better to go to than the most level-headed person in her life. And, as usual, Via proved to be the rock in which she could lean on.

She reminded her that, though unintentionally, the most important thing had been given a second-rate classification.

She wants to be with Phil.

But can she forgive him? A part of her doesn't_ think _she wantsto, but the rest of her _knows_ that she wants to. She has to. The risk of not being with him is too great. Like he told her once before...they all ready have so many strikes against them. How can another girl, who apparently doesn't mean anything anyway, be one of those strikes?

The truth is...she can't. And that is one of the most eye-opening realizations she has ever had. And that's why she's here now.

Keely shrugs and stuffs her hands into her coat pockets. "And I dressed warmly, as you requested." She raises her eyebrow. "So, I take it we're going somewhere then."

Phil nods. "If you want to. I mean, if that's ok."

"Yeah, that's...fine with me."

After activating the Skyak, Phil glances over at her again subconsciously waiting for her to bolt for the nearest exit. "Ready?"

She nods her head mutely without much expression on her face, but inside she is excited. Riding on the Skyak always brings a smile to her face...or even an inward smile that she doesn't show. But it's there nonetheless, along with her curiosity about what kind of plan turns the wheels inside his head.

Several minutes later, they arrive at their destination. Feeling more than a little disappointed when her arms are removed from their place around his waist, Phil jumps off first and offers her a hand, which she takes without hesitation. He tries not to read too much into the small gesture; she's probably only acting out of habit.

As he sets their helmets on the seat, Keely steps up to the Juniper-tree covered rim and gazes out in awe at the huge expanse of desert before her. The fading light from the sunset illuminates the towering multi-hued rock formations. Their oranges, reds, yellows, pinks, and purples glow in the twilight.

"Wow..."

Her softly spoken word of utter astonishment is carried by the light wind sweeping up from the valley below right to Phil's heart.

"You're looking at the majestic Painted Desert of Arizona," he says with a smile as he comes to stand next to her. "And that," he says pointing to the wide plain below them, "is the Petrified Forest."

"Yeah," she whispers as a faint memory appears in her mind.

Keely's gaze lowers to the vast array of broken pieces of large tree logs dotting the desert floor. Phil kicks a few stones from a flat rock and sits down upon it. After a few seconds, she easily joins him. He glances down between them and can't help but smile at the tiny gap separating them, the smallest distance between them in days.

Cutting her eyes over at him, Keely notices the small smile on his face and feels the beginnings of her own smile start to form.

"When you and your mom drove to Arizona..." he begins softly. "You said you came through here, but you didn't get the chance to stop even though you really wanted to see this."

Keely nods. "'Cause we had a flat tire and had to turn around."

Phil smiles. "And you didn't want to make your mom feel bad about not getting to come here.."

Keely laughs gently. "So I pretended that I didn't want to see it anyway."

Phil chuckles. "'Stupid bunch of old rocks', you said." He turns to look at her as the soft glow from below them alights her face. "'I bet they're not even really painted'," he says playfully recalling Keely's re-account from her trip here years ago.

She laughs again and Phil's breath quickens at the sweet sound. "'And who wants to see some old chunks of tree trunks?'," she says mocking her younger self.

With a smile, Phil turns back to look at the scene before them. "I don't think 'old' does this place enough justice," he says lightly.

Keely shakes her head. "No, I don't think so either."

Gesturing to the cliff-sides with his hand, Phil expertly explains, "These formations are millions of years old." He points down at the 'old chunks'. "And those too."

He sets his gaze back on her. "Millions of years..." His low, warm voice draws her own gaze back to him. "And all this remains." He shifts his position so that his body faces her. "All those years didn't erase this...instead...they blanketed this place with layer upon layer of exactly what it needed to be preserved forever."

Captivated by the shine in his eyes and the rumble of his voice, Keely sits perfectly still as he tells his story. "And those logs down there? Just when they appeared to be lost under those layers of time...the elements eroded away those layers until..." He shrugs and grins. "Well, that's why you can see them today."

Keely looks back at them as the darkness of night begins to swallow them. Phil adds quietly as he keeps his gaze steady on her, "And even a hundred years from now."

"You've been here before?" she asks turning back to him in surprise.

He nods. "My family's first vacation." He adds, "Pre-time machine."

Keely smiles. He continues. "I was only six or seven, but I remember it. I remember how..proud and happy..I felt standing on the edge of this place looking at it all..."

He turns to her again and says quietly, "But that feeling was nothing like what I feel being here with you right now."

As the bright stars in the clear desert sky shine down on them, as the cool night breeze floats by rustling the branches of the trees around them, their gazes all are that they see and all that they feel.

After several quiet moments, after a silent communication between their hearts, Keely smiles. "Hey, Phil?"

"Yeah," he breathes out still enthralled by her presence in this perfect moment.

"Did you know that you're supposed to pay to get in here?"

He furrows his brow as the question shakes him from his daze. "Really?"

"Yeah," Keely says lightly. "And it's_ supposed _to be closed to visitors at night."

He shrugs sheepishly. "I won't tell anyone if you won't."

She nods. "It's a deal."

"Keely?" he asks seriously.

She shakes her head. "You don't need to say anything, Phil. I understand now, and I'm sorry for what I said to you. I was going through a moment..which I'm sure I'll do again several times as I try to figure out what the heck I'm doing, but--"

"Keely," he says firmly hoping to end her ranting but...

"I don't want us to be nothing and I don't want us to be friends..not that our friendship didn't mean anything to me, 'cause it meant the world to me but that was when the world was small and I didn't know what we could be, and we were really great at what we could be and even though it was hard and it will be hard again I just want to go ba--"

"Keely," he says giving her shoulders a gentle shake. That does the trick.

"Yeah?"

"I have something I want to tell you." He sighs. "Something I've been _trying_ to tell you, but you won't ever let me."

"What is it?" she asks curiously.

"I hope it..I mean..I know it won't settle things right away, but...maybe it will help."

Keely sighs as her impatience takes over her. "What is it, Phil?"

He replies in sorrowful, desperate despair, "I just really want to...fix you, Keel." He whispers sadly, "Fix what I broke in you."

Keely swallows the lump in her throat. "Wha..what do..you.."

"I love you."

Logically, her brain screams that those three little words, though they've been believed to 'fix' broken hearts ever since people existed, don't 'fix' anything really. Logically, there's no easy fix when a love goes wrong and leaves your heart shattered and splintered seemingly beyond repair...but...

Those heartfelt three little words, suddenly not so little, coming from him...how could they _not_ fix her?

Phil sighs. "I know I failed you, and that I can't just say those words to you and expect everything to be ok, and I know saying that now probably sounds like I'm just using it to try to get you to--"

"_Phil_," she says placing a finger to his lips.

He raises his eyebrows.

And she kisses him.

Sometimes, those three little words are all that's needed. And sometimes, logic sucks.


	12. Chapter 12

Time Jump again! This chapter reflects the mood I was in when I wrote it..so this is what you get. However, though it may appear to be meaningless, if you, _ahem,_ 'read into things' like a certain someone who shall remain nameless, then congratulations! You've all ready got my point! If not, more on that later. And I just realized this chapter's almost entirely dialogue.

Yes, Obstacle No. 2 is a go. The flow, the flow...yeah. I can't believe you scrolled down to the ending...shameful really. Isn't it fun to find humor in life's most solemn moments? I think so, hence, my use of it. Or attempted use anyway. A new fan? A gutter-minded fan? Always a pleasure to hear that. And me relax? Not likely.

Feel free to kidnap, I'll look the other way. Visualization is the key. I aim for it anyway. Coldplay is currently my favorite band. "Fix You" is a great song. See? I kidnap too! I couldn't quote it 'cause I can't properly incorporate song lyrics into my stories. I've tried and failed miserably. But you, obviously, have mastered that.

Hey, use awesome all you wish. I like that word. It serves its purpose, and it's fun to say. I don't know why I think Via's wise either, considering how little of her character we've actually seen on the show.

Thanks everyone!

Chapter 12

Cutting her eyes over at him, Keely sighs impatiently. "Phil, if you don't stop doing that," she says as her voice steadily increases in volume, "you're gonna make me mess it up!"

He freezes his actions and innocently glances up at her from his position on his back.

"Thank you."

She continues her task with an intensely focused concentration, which makes Phil rolls his eyes. "Keel...it's an 'X'. Just mark it all ready and get down here," he says with a playful smirk as he tugs on the hem of her shirt trying to bring her down from her position on her knees to his level.

But she ignores him. Carefully, she makes the last mark, perfectly centered in the third white square for the month of June. "There," she says with satisfaction. She glances down at Phil. "See how the neatness makes all the difference?" She grins. "And the little happy face? I came up with that just now."

He squints his eyes to examine her handiwork. "Hmmm..." Keely raises her eyebrow at him, and he smiles. "Very neat, great difference."

Before he can stop her, the marker in her hand swipes at his face. "Hey!"

Keely laughs, recaps the lid, and hangs the marker back on the calendar as Phil rubs at his nose, which now sports a long red line down the length of it.

"Did it come off?" he asks after nearly rubbing away his skin.

She stifles her laughter and mutely shakes her head. Phil groans and leans up with every intention of going into the bathroom to try to wash it off, but Keely playfully shoves him back down on the bed.

"Is that a permanent marker?" he asks pointing up at the writing tool.

She sighs. "Nooo..it's not permanent."

Phil narrows his eyes at her and continues rubbing his nose until the mark finally disappears. "You know, I never said this before because I'm such a nice guy and I didn't want to ruin your little fun, but," he says pointing at the calendar, "that kind of seems more like you're counting down the days until something happens."

Glancing up at her creation, Keely furrows her brow. "It does?"

Phil nods. "Uh huh."

"I'm just recording our time together," she says with a pout. "What's wrong with that?"

Resisting his urge to kiss that pout away, Phil, instead, takes her hand in his own. "Our time together can't be measured, Keely," he says as he gently runs his thumb over the back of her hand. "There isn't a calendar in the world big enough," he says with a lopsided grin.

She ruffles his hair and plops down next to him. "You're lucky that the smooth-talk comes easy for you," she warns lightly.

He shakes his head. "That's not why I'm lucky."

Keely lightly smacks his chest. "_Enough_."

He frowns. "You don't like to be showered with flowery words?" He scoffs. "What kind of girl are you?"

"I love flowery words," she says as she stretches out beside him and folds her hands over her stomach. "But," she says turning her head to face him, "not when they're being used to manipulate me into thinking you didn't just insult me."

Phil smiles and slowly leans towards her while wiggling his eyebrows. Keely, though wanting to stick to her words and not let him disprove her unspoken theory that sweet affectionate advances also should not be used to manipulate her, she has no choice but to lean in too.

But someone softly clearing her throat immediately kills the mood and forces the two apart.

"Mom," Phil says with a nod of his head as he pushes himself up to sit with his back against his headboard. Keely does the same.

"Sorry to interrupt," she says trying to hide her smile, "but your ride is here."

Phil and Keely both furrow their brows as they look at each other. "I didn't hear any loud music," Phil says in confusion.

Keely nods. "Yeah, the windows didn't even shake."

"I suppose he finally took the hint I gave him..." Phil's mom says with a frown before leaving the room, "...three months ago."

Keely jumps off the bed and excitedly begins gathering her bags as Phil much less enthusiastically, and much more methodically, rechecks his own belongings for the tenth time today.

"Phil..you got everything you need and then some." She slings her small bag over her shoulder and tries to lift her larger luggage bag off the floor but it doesn't budge. "Could you...?"

He sighs. "I don't know..." he says looking around his room, "...didn't you just make fun of me?"

"I meant it in a good way," she says with a smile. "You're very organized and together," she says pointing at him. "Definitely the guy I'd wanna be stranded in the woods with."

Phil smirks. "Is that the only reason why you'd want to be stranded in the woods with me?"

Keely shakes her head and narrows her eyes at him. "Just get the bag."

As she hurries out the door, Phil rolls his eyes and grabs onto the handle of her overly-packed duffel. "Get the bag," he mutters mockingly. "I'll get the bag...the full-of-unnecessary-completely-unrelated-to-camping-stuff bag."

Not expecting to easily lift the large item from the floor, Phil is surprised to find himself thrown off balance as its weight shifts. Stumbling to regain his footing, he sets the bag back down and breathes out a sigh.

"Problem?" Keely asks as she reappears in the doorway. She hides her smile from the sight of his overexertion showing in his face.

Phil jumps slightly at the sound of her voice. "Uh...no..I'm just..." He rolls his shoulders back. "Just doing a little...pre-lifting stretch of the ol' muscles, you know?" He laughs nervously.

"Oh, so you _can_ lift it then?"

He scoffs. "Of course, I can lift it."

"'Cause I can go down and get Owen," she offers gesturing over her shoulder.

"No, I don't think that's necessary," Phil says with a smirk.

Keely shrugs. "Ok, then. See ya downstairs."

As she leaves for the second time, Phil looks down at the heavy load. He briefly considers using his Wizrd, but then decides its too risky with his unaware friends nearby. He thinks about unpacking some of her stuff to make it lighter, but quickly decides against that when he realizes how she'd probably not react too kindly to him doing that.

So with no other choice, he takes a deep breath and musters up all his physical strength. Latching a firm grip onto the handle, he tightly shuts his eyes and heaves the bag off the floor and over his shoulder. Surprisingly, he can bear the weight and remain upright. With a mental pat on his own back, he carefully maneuvers to grab his own bag and begins a very slow and cautious descent to the party awaiting him downstairs.

"Need some help, dude?"

Phil shakes his head. "Nah, I got it."

Owen shrugs and turns to Mrs. Diffy. "Thanks for the to-go-grub, Mrs. D," he says holding up his brown paper sack.

She pats his shoulder warmly. "Anytime, O'dawg." She turns to Phil as the other three teenagers slip out the door.

"Thanks for letting me go, Mom," he says trying to keep the strain from supporting the burden on his shoulder out of his voice.

She nods. "You're very welcome."

"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow afternoon."

He turns to leave but she stops him. "Phil."

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember what we talked ab--"

Of course he remembers. That was one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. "Yeah, Mom, I got it," he says quickly hoping she won't feel the need to rehash that conversation.

She nods. "Good, have a great time then."

Turning away from her, he rolls his eyes and lugs his load out the door to the SUV at the curb where Keely is eagerly waving at him to hurry up. If she were anyone else, he'd shout out a rude comment and tell her to come and get her own bag and stop rushing him when he, obviously, can't be rushed because he's toting a load somewhere in the neighborhood of his own body weight.

But she's Keely.

Therefore, his feet propel him forward in spite of the burning sensation in his back, and the popping of bone at his neck, and the stinging in his lip where he bites down on it so that the rest of his pain is all relative.

She's Keely. And the bruise on his shoulder, where the strap of her bag nearly cuts into his skin through his shirt, will heal.

Managing to cross the short distance without incident, Phil casually accepts Owen's offer to help place the bag into the back of the vehicle. And as he slides into the backseat next to her, Keely thanks him with a quick press of her lips to his. And just like that, the pain is gone.

When they arrive at their destination, Owen is the first to jump out. "Awesome!" He does a little dance and claps his hands. "Just four unchaperoned teens and the wide-open wilderness," he says gesturing out at the campsite.

Via shuts her door and rolls her eyes. "And the seventy or so other people camping here. And we're only forty-five minutes from home and the highway is," she says pointing through the trees, "just there."

Owen frowns. "Via..." he whines. "You're killin' my happy."

She shrugs and knocks her knuckles against the heavily tinted window.

After a few seconds the door slowly opens and Keely appears. "Hey, we're here," she says nonchalantly. Via raises her eyebrow, but Keely ignores her and holds out her hand for Phil to take as she pulls him outside the vehicle.

Owen coughs and raises his eyebrows at Phil, who pretends not to notice his friend's not-so-subtle gesture. He rubs his hands together. "All right. First things first."

Keely groans. "Phil, can't we take a moment to enjoy ourselves in this beautiful place before you go all..." she says waving her hands in the air, "...drill sergeant on us?"

He scoffs. "You want to sleep in a tent, Teslow?"

She rolls her eyes. "Sir, yes, sir," she mutters unenthusiastically while giving him a half-hearted salute.

He nods. "Then I suggest we set it up _before_ it gets dark."

"Totally," Owen huffs. "I ain't sleepin' on no ground." Via raises her eyebrow at him. He clears his throat. "Old back injury."

Phil chuckles. "Let's just do this, ok?" He turns to Keely. "And then we can enjoy ourselves." She smiles her approval.

After spending nearly thirty minutes setting up the large tent, under the command of Phil's instruction, they finally manage to raise it without the center collapsing like it did twice before. And as the sun sets behind the wooded hills, they settle themselves in front of the blazing campfire.

Owen laughs. "I can't believe our parents actually let us do this." He points at Phil and Keely. "Especially you guys."

Phil shrugs. "My parents trust me."

Keely nods. "My mom loves me.

Via sighs. "My dad's just glad I'm doing something other than shopping."

Owen furrow his brow. "Huh...I think my parents just wanted me...not where they are."

Phil, Keely, and Via exchange glances as Owen contemplates that for a while.

Biting off her marshmallow from the end of her stick, Keely says happily, "Yum." She wipes her mouth and then licks the remains from her fingers. "Sticky too."

From his place next to her, Phil smiles as she presses her fingertips together. "Yeah, that's kind of what happens when you subject pure sugar to a high temperature."

She nudges his side with her elbow a bit harshly. He scoffs as he plucks his own treat off the end of his stick. "Well, I'm not going to sit idly back while you abuse me," he says with a mischievous gleam in his dark eyes.

Realizing where this is leading, Keely lifts her hands to her face to shield herself from his attack, but she's too slow. The gooey substance clings to the bridge of her nose.

Owen laughs, Via grimaces, Phil smirks, and Keely fumes.

"Phil Diffy..."

He shrugs innocently. "Yes, Keely?"

She silently flicks the confection off her face and narrows her eyes at him. Phil stifles his laughter. "You got a little...um.." He points at her nose where a smudge of white can still be seen. "I'll get it," he says with a grin as he quickly leans in to kiss her nose.

"Phil!"

He sits back against the log/bench behind them as he smacks his lips. "Mmm..it really is 'yum' and 'sticky'."

"You are so gross!" Keely exclaims in disgust. "You'd eat off of anything," she mumbles as she digs into the sack for another marshmallow.

Phil shakes his head and replies with a crooked smile, "Just you."

Owen and Via stifle their laughter as Keely's face reddens, and then, as he realizes what he just said, Phil's cheeks glow a similar shade.

Abruptly, to break the awkward moment, Via throws her own marshmallow at Phil which bounces off his chest. He scoffs. "Oh, that's it."

Owen jumps up. "Let the battle begin!"

Soon the quiet night air is filled with the soft giggles, shrill squeals, and deep shouts from four good friends as they chase each other with smashed marshmallows in their hands and wide grins on their faces. They jump over stones and dive behind bushes to dodge the flying sugary sweets. And as their breaths quicken, and their bodies tire, and as no one seems to have escaped the battle unscathed, their laughter fades and they settle themselves in front of the fire once again.

After a few silent moments, Owen asks as he stares up into the sky, "Hey, what are those two stars called?"

Via, who is sitting close by, glances over at his prostrate form. "Which two stars?"

"You know, those two stars with the weird names."

Via shakes her head. "A lot of stars have weird names, Owen. You're going to have to be more specific."

He lifts his head to look at her. "The ones we learned about in school."

From her spot resting up against Phil's chest, Keely laughs softly. "You remember something we learned in school?" Phil smiles and ever-so-slightly tightens his arms around her as he rests his chin on top of her head.

Owen frowns. "Apparently, not so much."

"Are you talking about Castor and Pollux?" Phil asks flatly.

He snaps his fingers. "That's it! The soul-mate stars!"

Keely grins. "Wow, Owen, I'm impressed. That's from like two months ago."

He smiles, completely not offended by her or either he just didn't pick up on the sarcasm in her voice. Via shakes her head. "But you're wrong."

"Huh?"

"Castor and Pollux weren't soul mates," Via explains. "They were twins."

"Oh." He shrugs. "So is that them up there?" he asks pointing skywards.

Via shakes her head. "I don't think we can see them from this angle."

"They should've been soul mates," Keely says with a pout. "Much more romantic that way."

"But their story is just as inspiring as any love story could ever be," Via counters.

Keely furrows her brow. "Going to Hades to find your dead brother is...inspiring?"

Via chuckles. "Castor traveled to the underworld and accepted to share his brother's immortality because he couldn't bear the thought of life without him, and due to their undying loyalty to each other, the gods turned them into stars so they could spend eternity together. That's the best kind of inspiration, Keely."

She shrugs. Phil says quietly, "Actually, Castor and Pollux are nothing more than a spectroscopic binary six-star system so.."

Keely and Via groan as Owen wrinkles his nose in confusion, but Phil just shrugs them off.

"There's goes inspiring," Keely grumbles. He kisses her cheek and tickles her side lightly; her mood instantly brightens.

Via says thoughtfully, "Well, I don't think them being soul mates would have been romantic anyway."

Keely scoffs. "Right, I forgot."

Phil whispers in her ear, "Forgot what?"

"Via doesn't believe in soul mates," she whispers back just loud enough for the brunette to hear her.

"I do too believe in soul mates. I just don't see the romanticism in the idea."

Phil raises his eyebrow. "Why's that?" he asks curiously.

Via sighs. "I suppose I've been subjected to too many sappy love songs and poorly directed films."

He nods. "Yeah, the entertainment industry has a tendency to over-dramatize things like that, don't they?"

Keely throws her hands in the air. "I can't believe you two!" She shifts in Phil's lap so she can see his face. "Do _you_ believe in soul mates?"

Thinking about that for a moment, Phil sets his gaze on the crackling fire. Every since he met Keely he's believed in soul mates without a doubt. But he doesn't believe in them the way she will want him to believe.

"I do...but..."

"But what?"

He looks into her eyes and can see the uncertainty there. "But I don't know if I believe that soul mates end up together," he says softly.

She furrows her brow. "How can they not, Phil? _Soul mates_. The word itself kinda implies that they're meant to be."

He nods. "I agree...soul mates are meant to be together, but," he says with a shrug, "maybe they're only meant to be _together_ together for a few years or a few decades or..." He adds quietly, "For even just a brief moment in their lives."

Keely frowns. Via nods her head. "I understand what you mean, Phil." He looks at her as she continues. "Perhaps, the joining of two souls destined for each other is temporary...perhaps the meeting, not eternity, is the only guarantee."

Phil nods and looks back at Keely, but she's not buying it. "They will still be together for eternity, but in a different way."

She sighs and leans back against his chest again. "Different maybe, but not good."

He rests his cheek next to hers and explains softly, "Soul mates are made for each other, right?" She nods. "Well, that means they're perfect for each other. But we can't all find our perfect match and keep them forever. Think how the world would be if that happened. Plus," he adds with a smile as he slides his arms around her and sways their bodies gently side to side, "the universe would probably implode."

"So a person finds their soul mate only to have them ripped right out of their life at some point in the future?" she asks sadly.

Phil whispers, "But they'll always be together in some way, Keely." His lips just barely graze her cheek. "Always."

His affectionate tone and promising words do little to quell the worry and doubt within her, but she doesn't have time to contemplate that any further as Owen suddenly startles himself from slumber with a loud snore.

"I'm awake!" he says as he bolts upright.

Phil laughs lightly. "And on that note," he says with a nod of his head, "shall we sleep now?"

Via watches Keely's face with concern at the sight of the expression there, but Keely looks at her and smile weakly. Via raises her eyebrow to let her know that she won't press the subject now, but also, warns her that it will come up again soon. Keely nods her head.

"You guys comin'?" Owen asks looking at Phil and Keely still in their spot on the ground.

Phil looks at Keely questioningly and she pats his knee. "We're gonna hang here for a little while longer, Owen."

"Uhhh huhhh."

Via pushes him towards the tent. "Leave them alone." She smiles down at them. "Goodnight, you two."

"'Night, Via."

She turns back to Owen who is holding the tent flap open for her. "You better stay on your side," she warns before disappearing inside.

Owen bites down on his lip and looks at Phil. "Don't you just dig assertive chicks?" he whispers loudly.

Keely shakes her head and replies quietly, "I wouldn't use the 'C' word around her."

"Ahhh." He clicks his tongue and gives Keely a thumbs-up before ducking into the tent.

Phil furrows his brow. "You just gave Owen a piece of _useful _advice about Via."

She whispers, "Don't say anything..but I think he's growin' on her."

"Really?" Phil raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow...that's..." He frowns.

"Disturbing?"

"Very."

Keely nods. "I agree."

Phil sighs in content now that they are alone. "So...why'd you want to...hang...out here for a while?"

She glances over at him innocently. "Oh, I don't know..." She shrugs casually. "I don't see any doors around..."

Though, the idea sounds good, Phil can hear the faint, and untimely, voice of his mother in his head. He winces. "Even the proverbial door should stay open."

She laughs and a thought occurs to her suddenly. "I wanna sleep out under the stars." She looks at him. "How about you?"

Phil nods, and quickly, Keely rises to her feet and walks over to retrieve their sleeping bags from Owen's mom's vehicle. She frowns and turns back to Phil. "Where's yours?"

He furrows his brow. "It's not there?"

She checks again and shakes her head. He sighs as he remembers exactly where it is and the reason why he forgot it. Keely walks back and looks down at him. "What?"

"It's in my bedroom."

"Why is it there?"

"'Cause of you."

"Me?"

"Yep."

She scoffs. "Whatever."

He mutters, "You and your bag of _essentials_."

"Ohhh."

She spreads out her sleeping bag next to him. Phil raises his eyebrows at her. "So what do I get?"

"To sleep on the ground," she replies cheerfully. "Really experience that whole one-with-nature-vibe."

He shrugs. "I'll just go sleep in the tent then."

She shakes her head. "I'm kidding, Phil. Get in here."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Keel."

"Why not?"

"Sharing a sleeping bag? A low-on-space sleeping bag?

"Oh. Right."

"I know what we'll do," he says as he grabs her by the waist and pulls her back into his lap and then covers them both with the sleeping bag.

Keely giggles and snuggles impossibly further into him. They sit for several minutes content to feel the warmth from their bodies and the dwindling fire. The heaviness of sleep begins to settle its weight upon her, and Keely has to fight to keep her eyes open.

Phil notices her nearly nodding off a few times and whispers through his soft smile, "Sleepy, sleepy, Keely."

His low voice rumbles in his chest and vibrates in her back. That combined with the gentle ministrations of his fingers grazing her hand where it rests on her stomach and the warm puffs of breath from his lips against her skin, only deepens her drowsiness.

"Phil..." she says with a yawn.

He chuckles. "You're not going to ask me to tell you another bedtime story, are you?"

She smiles. "Nope..." She furrows her brow slightly and laces her fingers with his. "I hope you're not my soul mate," she says in a small voice.

Phil frowns. "Why?" he asks sadly.

Keely turns onto her side and lays her head on his chest over his heart. "Because.." She yawns again. "I want us..to be _together_ together..forever..." her voice trails off as her body completely relaxes, ready for slumber.

Pushing back the fear and the little voice in his mind telling him that that's not...Phil rests his cheek against the top of her head.

"Promise me...you'll never...leave..." she whispers as her eyelids fall.

But he can't. He can't make that promise. He wants to. He so desperately wants to. But...he can't. So, he doesn't.

"Goodnight, Keely, " he whispers before kissing the crown of her head.

Her breathing evens out as deep sleep overtakes her. But Phil is wide awake. He doesn't want the night to be over. He keeps his eyes on her face. The peace there is undeniable. As he holds her through the night while she dreams...

He hopes her dreams make her happy.

He hopes her life makes her happy too.

Her past...her present...and her future.


	13. Chapter 13

Ok, I know what my problem is now. I'm nearly burnt out on this fanfic thing. So, what's the cure? Add tapped-out-resources to the way school's been going lately and I'm about ready to stab myself in the neck with my pen! Anyway...

Yes, the star thing is real. Well, it's real mythology. Is that an oxymoron? I guess it was real to the ancient Greeks anyhow. The stars are scientifically real, though, like Phil said. Or actually, like I said since he's just a _fictional_ fictional character. Never mind.

Wow, that's some review. I _was _referring to you. My weak attempt at humor earned a snort? That's great! But no tears? Drat. So I didn't get a sticker? Oh, no..you're going away? Should I end this in your absence? Can I even do that? Yikes. I'm nervous.

Oh, and thanks, you two, for using reviews for my story to communicate! Really.

Just a couple little side notes..the description of Phil could very well stem from my slight obsession with Ricky. Slight obsession, mind you. And I hope no one here is offended by a little Pheely action. :) Also, this chapter is not just filler and perhaps a tad redundant, but it's my story and I'm writing it so...bear with me please.

Thanks everyone! I love your comments! And, hopefully, this will all be wrapped up soon. Time permitting. (hehehe..time)

Chapter 13

Being at the mercy of the curves of the road means continuously being taken, most often, opposite the direction you were going. At least curves never last long.

But sometimes that's not such a great thing. Sometimes, the other direction isn't necessarily where you want to go. But, when you follow the road, you give up control. You ride through the curves regardless of where they take you. The curves will come and go, and traveling along the twists and turns is just what you do.

Phil mentally sighs as he watches the bright yellow center line, a splash of color on the dark pavement, as it follows the road. No matter what direction the curves take, the center line is there.

As he glances over at the girl behind the steering wheel, the orange glow from the late afternoon sky streaming through the glass and reflecting in her eyes, he smiles.

She reaches out her hand to adjust the radio, but she keeps her eyes locked firmly on the road up ahead. After months of driving recklessly and freely, lightly bouncing off trashcans and curbs, hitting the brakes a little too hard, and scaring him nearly to death in one or two circumstances, she has finally learned the deep, deep secret to responsibly operating a motor vehicle.

Keep your eyes on the road. It's good advice.

"Stupid radio," she mutters and falls back against the seat.

Phil presses the button to silence the static. Keely sighs. "I don't want the summer to end."

He shakes his head. Her innate, and sometimes frustratingly hard to keep up with, tendency to randomly leap between two very distinct thoughts never ceases to amaze him. "It's not ending yet," he replies quietly.

"But it will," she says somberly, "and sooner than it should."

He shrugs. "Well, look at it this way, at least we're one year closer to leaving the halls of H.G. Wells behind."

"True." She frowns. "But isn't that kinda sad too?"

"I'm beginning to think you just don't like endings period, Keel," he says light-heartedly.

"They're so..." she says slowly, "final."

"But if something never ended," Phil says with a shrug, "then something else couldn't begin."

She turns her head to look at him. Her expression is unreadable, which surprises him because normally, he can read her like an open book. But now...

"What if I don't want something else to begin?" she asks flatly.

Her gaze lingers on his for a few seconds before she promptly returns her eyes to the road. He's not sure if the question itself is what hasn't settled well with him or if it's the unrecognizable reason behind why she said it in the first place. Or maybe it was the way she asked. Maybe it was that unreadable expression.

That look is something he's noticed about her lately; something that wasn't there before. For the last few months, what his mind screams at him has been there since the night she fell asleep in his arms next to the small fire with a simple and difficult request fading into the night, something about her, something noticeable enough to have kept him awake many nights, is different.

Though, the last few months have been some of their greatest spent together, a happy time without many cares, without confusing feelings, without brunette neighbors, moments arise when that happiness is briefly in danger of falling away from them. Moments, like now, when their conversations seem to have an ominous fog hanging overhead, have become more frequent.

And he's left without a clue as how to answer her question. What if? Something will end and something else will begin. That's inevitable no matter what we want. _What if _we don't want it to? Well, unfortunately and sadly, that really doesn't matter at all.

"Hey, Phil," she says with her patented cheer returning to her voice. She cuts her eyes over at him and grins. "Wanna drive?"

Immediately, thinking about the illegality of such a thing, not to mention the fact that he hasn't ever driven a car in his life, he shakes his head.

"Oh, come on." She points at the flat stretch of road ahead to an unpaved side road off to their left. "No traffic, slow speed, no law enforcement..." she says turning to look at him, "what'd ya say?"

He knows what he should say, but the delightful shine in her face, and also his secret desire to get behind that wheel, forces him to nod his head. She claps her hands together excitedly, and Phil instantly grabs for control of the wheel, but she quickly takes it again. "Sorry."

The car slows to a stop, a nice and gentle stop, along the side of the narrow road. As he settles into the driver's seat, he glances over at Keely. "Where does this road lead anyway?"

She smiles as she flips the visor down to check her reflection in the mirror. "To a big field."

"A big field," he repeats dryly.

Pulling her hair back into a low ponytail, she nods. "Yep."

"Ok then." He puts the car into gear and eases on the gas pedal.

Keely chuckles as she looks at the speedometer. "Phil...I think you can go a little faster than that. We won't spin out of control, I promise."

He smirks. "I believe I can handle this, Keel, thanks."

She rolls down her window and leans onto the door, resting her chin on her arm. "Well, wake me when we get there, _Grandpa_."

He rolls his eyes and carefully increases his speed from ten to fifteen mph. "Better?"

"I don't know..." she replies glancing down at the rocky surface of the road. "The gravel's kinda loose." She turns her head to look at him. "Probably should slow her down a bit, Speedy."

"Or I could _accidentally_ run your mom's scratch-less, dent-less shiny car into that embankment."

Keely scoffs. "Like you'd do that."

Phil shrugs nonchalantly and abruptly jerks the wheel to the left. Keely's eyes widen. "Phil!"

Just before the front bumper makes contact with the small boulders lining the road, he turns back. "Gotcha."

She places her hand over her chest and expels the breath she'd been holding. "Moron."

He scoffs. "Still name-calling?" He shakes his head at her in disappointment. "Have you not learned your lesson?" He nods to the side of the road. "I can refresh your memory."

She quickly holds up her hand. "No, no, no. I'm sorry. I take it back."

He nods his approval and leans comfortably back into the sun-warmed leather of the seat. Keely raises her eyebrow at the sight of only one of his hands on the steering wheel. Phil just shrugs sheepishly. She rolls her eyes and leans her head out the window again to enjoy the gentle breeze gliding over her face.

After riding in silent contentment for the next several minutes, Phil finally sees the mysterious big field. And it is not big. It's massive. The road ends where tall grasses have overtaken it throughout the years. He parks the car, shuts off the engine, and stares straight ahead.

Keely smiles. "Voila!" she says holding out her arm. "Big field."

He watches her as she jumps out of the car and skips a few feet into the grassy expanse. Her summer-kissed skin radiates in the rays from the sun hanging low in the hazy sky. The streaks of sun-highlighted blond in her hair shine brightly against her natural color. The strands from her loose ponytail whip through the air as she bounces up and down. Her lightweight skirt swirls about her as she slowly spins among the rainbow of colors from the various wildflowers.

"Phil," she says with a laugh and a small wave of her hand beckoning him to her.

He shakes himself from his daze and slowly steps out of the car. Walking towards her, he picks a yellow flower and twirls it between his fingers.

Keely smiles as he presents to her the small token of his affection. "Ever the gentleman," she says as she places the flower behind her ear.

"Well, you have that effect on me," he says as he takes her hand in his and they slowly begin walking further into the field. He glances around the quiet space. "So how do you know about this place?"

"Everyone knows the big field," she says mysteriously.

He raises his eyebrow and asks cautiously, "This isn't some make-out spot is it?" His eyes widen as an unwelcome thought enters his mind. "Please don't tell me that's what this is and that's the reason you know about it."

Keely laughs. "No, it's not a make-out spot." She shrugs. "Well, I guess it could be, but I don't think that's why people come here."

He mentally sighs in relief, but then quickly furrows his brow. "So...why _do_ people come here?"

"Actually, not so much people in general..."

"What then? Dogs? Cats? Aliens?"

"Kids."

"Oh." He frowns in confusion. "What?"

She gestures at the field. "Look around, Phil. What do you see?"

His eyes travel from one end of the field where the trees stand tall to the other end where gentle rolling hills stretch into the distance, but nothing in particular grabs his attention.

"I see a big field." He shrugs. "Like you said."

"And what would a big field like this be to a little kid?"

Realization dawns upon him as his mind imagines a group of children running through the stalks of weeds. He can almost hear the echo of their laughter. "The ultimate playground."

She nods. "Exactly." As her mind takes her back to her childhood, she rakes her fingers across the tops of the grasses and petals. "We all used to come here almost every Saturday." She points to the trees. "There's a trail that leads to the neighborhood through there."

"We'd pack snacks and come here and play until the sun set." She laughs softly. "'Chase' was our favorite game." She glances over at Phil. "And by the time we were ten, regular old 'Chase' became 'Kiss-Chase'."

She laughs. "And that's when our moms decided we shouldn't come to the big field anymore."

"So, this really was a make-out spot," he teases.

Keely raises her eyebrow. "Have you ever seen 10-year-olds kiss, Phil?"

He shakes his head. "Of course, not. I _never_ dreamed of kissing a girl at that age." He nudges her side gently. "I guess 21st-century-kids are more curious than kids in the future."

"I think we were probably just more bored," she says with a frown. "What with the lack of cool future-technology-toys and all."

Phil nods. "So, how exactly does 'Kiss-Chase' work?"

"Chase, catch, kiss."

"Isn't that...'Chase-Kiss'?"

She rolls her eyes. "We were kids, Phil, not arguers of semantics."

"Oh, well, that's another difference between kids today and a hundred years from now," he says as he swings their joined hands between their bodies casually for a few moments before suddenly lightly poking her arm. "You're it."

He pulls his hand from hers and takes off in a sprint. Looking back over his shoulder at her smiling face, he shouts, "Well, come on, Keel! Chase me!"

And without hesitation, she does.

Under the heaviness of an early August sky, an age old scene unfolds...a boy and girl caught in the sands of time between years of innocence and years of experience. Two hearts connected; two souls merged, dancing happily to the rhythm of true love.

As he continuously dodges her attempts to grab onto his white t-shirt, she grows frustrated and impatient with his idea of amusement. "Oh, Phil?" she says in a sing-song voice as she comes to a stop and places her hands on her hips.

He keeps his feet moving, knowing this latest development must surely be a ploy to distract him so she can finally get her hands on him, but jogging backwards is never a wise thing to do when you're unaware of the small hole behind you.

"Don't you _want_ me to catch you?" she asks with a wink.

Having temporarily forgotten the object of the game, the realization hits him just as his heel drops into the dip in the soft earth. Within two seconds he's flat on his back staring up into the cloudless sky.

"Ow."

Soft footfalls and giggles approach him. Keely's face smiles down at him. "Are you ok?" she asks trying to hold back her laughter.

He frowns. "Yeah, the uh.." he says reaching underneath his back, ".._only_ rock in the whole field broke my fall." He tosses the nuisance aside.

Keely laughs and joins him on the ground. She presses her lips to his and pulls back to look into his eyes as he inhales deeply to regain the breath he was all ready lacking before he fell and before her kiss. "And that's the end of the game."

He scoffs. "And is _this_," his says gesturing to his current position, "how you caught all those little ten-year-old boys?"

"Hey," she says defensively, "I didn't make you fall in that hole," she says pointing near his feet. "You're just clumsy."

He grumbles, "For the last time, I..am..not..clumsy." He points at her chest. "_You _unfairly distracted me with your irresistible and evil charms."

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" she replies smugly.

He rolls his eyes at her, but she just smiles sweetly and reclines next to him. Bringing his hand up to rest within her own on top of her stomach, she breathes out a sigh of utter content and glances over at him as he watches the sky.

His tousled hair, the soft lines in his forehead currently dampened by a thin layer of sweat, his brown eyes shining in the fading sunlight, his thick dark lashes, the smooth column of his throat, everything about him is permanently ingrained in her memory. The feel of his skin, the curvature of muscles in his arms and chest, the velvety gentleness in the pads of his fingertips, all have left an imprint inside her that time could never erase.

Time. The concept is hard enough to understand, but add the fact that the only person in the world, in existence now or ever, that she can see herself being with or would want to be with will always be separated from her no matter how close they've become, no matter how close they could ever be, because of time, and her brain numbs itself just to keep from shutting down completely.

Time. It ticks on by without any concern for those left to slave against it. It brings everything into the world, and it eventually takes it all back. It brought him to her. But that's the only reason why time will ever receive her gratitude.

A tiny lavender-colored butterfly flutters above them, and Keely slides the flower out from behind her ear and holds it up. The small creature alights upon it briefly before lifting into the air again. How quickly it flies away and moves on to another place makes her frown. _Time_.

Phil glances at her face and notices the small scowl clouding her features. "What's wrong?" he asks quietly.

Turning her head to look at him, she sees the soft concern in his eyes and finds herself uncontrollably needing to be nearer to him. Removing her hand from his and raising up on her elbow, she crashes into him with urgency.

As their lips collide, Phil, unsuspecting of her action, tries to gently push her back enough to look into her face and question her rather impulsive and uncharacteristic move, but she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him to her with incredible strength.

Lying on their sides in the grass, lips melded together, Phil finally manages to break their contact and acquire her attention.

"Keel..." he whispers, "what is it?"

Realizing how her behavior might have appeared, she lowers her eyes to the patch of ground between their bodies. "I'm sorry," she whispers meekly.

He lifts her chin with his finger. "Sorry for what?" He shakes his head. "You don't have to be sorry for anything."

"I-I didn't mean to...I just..."

He smiles softly. "I didn't mind, Keel" he says quietly, "I just don't understand what brought it on."

"I don't know...I wanted..."

Slowly lifting his hand to her head, he grazes the fine hair at her temple. Her eyelids fall as he leans in and faintly presses his lips to the corner of her mouth. She cups the back of his neck and pulls him closer to deepen their kiss. His hand drops from her face and slides over her bare shoulder down the length of her side to her hip where her shirt has risen up slighty. His fingers draw lazy patterns on her skin as her hand lowers to his chest to rest upon the strong beating of his heart.

When oxygen becomes an issue, regretfully, they part.

But something about this latest exchange is different, and Keely can feel it. And it feels like...goodbye.

Oblivious to anything else but the sweet, satisfying afterglow, Phil smiles. "Is that what you wanted?" he whispers.

She nods, despite the less than total truthfulness to her silent answer. She really wanted to lose herself in him, so that they would never be apart. By doing that, maybe she could outsmart time. That's what she really wanted. But that's what she'll never get from him no matter how hard he tries to give it to her or no matter how hard she tries to take it from him.

"That was..p.perfect," she says trying desperately to keep the emotion out of her voice.

Phil furrows his brow slightly. "Sure you're ok?" he asks gently.

She smiles to reassure him. "Yes, I'm fine."

Initially, he doubts her honesty, but he decides not to press the issue, and from the way she rises to her feet and sets her shoulders, he can see that she's not open to discussion anyway.

Glancing up at the darkening sky, she asks, "Wanna go back to the car?"

He stands up next to her and nods. "Let's go."

Taking his hand, she leads them through the gently waving wildflowers as a warm breeze sweeps across the field. Watching her as she gazes up at the first few stars shining against the backdrop of soft purple and blue hues from the dusk sky, Phil wonders about something that has been on his mind for a while now.

Her happiness. He can't guarantee it for her. He hopes for it and wishes for it, but he can't _make_ it happen. Not forever. And he can't bear the thought of her not being happy. As he watched her sleep in his arms that night, she seemed happy. But we can all be happy in our dreams. Finding happiness while we're awake is not always as easy. Actually, keeping that happiness is the hardest thing.

"Keely?"

She turns her head to look at him. His brow furrows. "What do you want out of life?"

Tilting her head to the side, though she's certain of what she wants out of life, she takes a few moments to reflect on the goals she's set for herself.

When she does finally speak, her voice is sprinkled with a light cheerfulness. "I wanna go to journalism school to perfect my craft. I wanna be a star news reporter, and when I finally make it behind that big desk on a nationally televised nightly news broadcast, I wanna get married and start my family of two kids, which I will raise in a nice, quiet suburb with a convenient and easy commute to work, 'cause I'm not giving up my career unless I just can't possibly do both," she finishes with a shake of her head. Phil rolls his eyes.

She takes a breath and continues. "And I wanna live in a big house with a spacious green yard so the kids and cats have room to play until the kids grow up and move away and have some grandchildren for me, and hopefully, at least one great-grandchild before..."

Taking another deep breath, she says confidently, "That's what I want out of life."

"Is that all?" Phil teases.

She opens her mouth to speak something that has very naturally come to her, but she realizes what she was about to say and quickly decides against it. Of course that's not all, but the only other thing she'll need, one of the most, if not the single most, integral pieces of the puzzle...

Well, the whole dream is probably too much to ever expect to come true. But she can hope for it. And that's really all a dream is.

"So...all that is what would make you happy?"

She sighs. "Yeah. I mean, if it doesn't happen, I'm sure I'll still find happiness somewhere..somehow...but..."

"It wouldn't be the same."

"No," she replies quietly, "it wouldn't."

"But it would still be happiness, even though it'd be different. Right?"

She nods. "Yeah...it would." She furrows her brow. "Why'd you ask anyway?"

Phil shrugs. "I was just curious."

"Ok..."

He sighs. "I just want you to be happy, Keely."

"I am happy, Phil."

"And I want you to always be that way."

She doesn't say anything; she just looks up ahead at the car, where the bright light from the moon bounces off the hood.

"So that's why I wanted to know," Phil says quietly.

Clearing her throat, she allows her hand to slip from his grasp as she moves towards the car. "Do you want to go?" she asks looking over her shoulder at him.

"If you want to."

She nods. "I just wanna...drive."

He steps up to the passenger side door. "All right then." He drops down into the seat as she does the same. "Drive on."

She smiles and turns the key, but as she attempts to shift into reverse, Phil rests his hand on hers. Glancing at him through the dark interior, she silently questions him by raising her eyebrows.

He wants to say something profound, something powerful and true, to her right now as the quiet sounds of night surround them, the moonlight graces her beautiful features, and the warmth from her hand flows through his straight to his heart.

"Headlights."

"Huh?"

He shakes his head and mentally kicks himself. "Um...you..." he says removing his hand and gesturing to the control switch, "need to..to turn on the headlights."

"Yeah," she scoffs lightly, "I was kinda gettin' to that."

"Right. Of course, you were," he says apologetically before turning his head away from her and silently berating himself.

By the time they reach the highway again, they're giggling like crazy about some ridiculous, meaningless thing that was forgotten as soon as their fits of laughter began. Profound will have to wait.

"Ahh.." Keely sighs glancing over at Phil as her giggles subside. "Can't we just keep driving forever?"

He smiles and relaxes into his seat and prop his feet up on the dash. "That's fine with me, Keel. That's fine with me."

"Hey, feet," she says sternly.

He immediately places them back on the floorboard. She nods. "Good."

"You're worried about my feet harmlessly resting on the dash when you," he says gesturing to the area between them covered in a thick sticky residue of soda, "did _that_?"

She scoffs. "I wouldn't have spilled it if you hadn't kept..." She cuts her eyes over at his smiling face.

"Kept what?" he asks with a playful smirk.

"You know..." she says returning her eyes to the road.

Phil rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm...let me think...what _was_ I doing?"

"You are terrible, Phil Diffy," she says shaking her head.

He leans closer to her and whispers, "Terribly in love with you."

She smiles through her sigh. "I never get tired of hearing that."

Phil laughs and kisses her cheek. Keely tries to push him away. "Now that's _exactly_ what led to the mess my mom is gonna totally freak about."

He shrugs and whispers against her neck, "But now you don't have a drink in your hand."

His breath tickles her and she giggles. "Phil, I'm trying to drive," she says trying to be serious despite the effect he's having on her.

With one more kiss to her cheek, he sits back in his seat. "Right. Rule number three: no driver distractions."

"Actually, I think that was number two."

"No, that was 'keep your arms and legs in the vehicle at all times'."

"Um..I think that's for amusement park rides."

"Which are _completely_ unsafe."

"Phil..." she says glancing over at him. "You ride on a thing that can take you around the world faster than I can get dressed for school."

He snorts. "Keel, I could _walk _around the world faster than that."

She cringes. "I kinda set myself up for that one, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did."

"Do you smell that?" she asks making yet another random leap.

"Smell what?"

She inhales deeply and smiles. "I _love_ the smell of the rain."

Phil leans his head closer to the open window. "Yeah..." He turns back to her. "But it's not raining."

Keely points ahead of them where a few flashes of lightning illuminate the sky. "But it will be soon."

After a few moments of watching the approaching rainstorm, Phil says quietly as he thinks about the events of the afternoon, "Thanks for showing me the big field."

She smiles at him. "You're very welcome."

"I feel kind of bad, though."

"About what?"

"You don't think we..desecrated..that place of pure childhood innocence, do you?" he asks with a smile.

She laughs softly. "Well, I guess it's a make-out spot _now_."

As they settle into a comfortable silence, broken only by the low hum of the tires on the road, the soft purr of the engine, and the sound of the wind rushing by, somehow, naturally, their fingers lace together.

And as the distance to home slowly decreases and the clouds overtake the starlit sky above them, the first few drops of water splash against the windshield.

And as the car pulls up to his house, lighted by only a small glow from a downstairs window, they share a goodnight kiss.

And as she watches him jog through the rain to the front door, and as he turns back to watch her slowly drive away, neither of them realize why...suddenly...they _know_ they should have kept driving.

Forever.


	14. Chapter 14

Well, I normally devote about an hour a day to writing, but this one has been giving me problems, hence the extra time it's taken to get it out. I am so sick of this story! Sorry. I had to let it out.

Thanks for reading and reviewing

Chapter 14

He stares at the empty street. He stares at the rainwater as it collects into a small puddle at the bottom of the steps. He stares at his wet sneakers. He stares at the darkened spots on the denim of his jeans. He stares at his hand.

It trembles.

He flexes his fingers. He tightens them into a fist. He releases it, but the trembling continues. He shakes the hand up and down in the air. It still trembles.

He stares at the doorknob. He reaches out the trembling hand. He briefly closes his eyes and he takes a deep breath.

But he doesn't understand why. All he does understand is that he wants to be in that car with her again. He needs to be.

Taking extra precautions to not awaken his family at this late night hour, Phil opens the front door and enters the quiet house. Much to his surprise and unexpected dread, he sees his mom sitting on the couch. Her face is darkened as the soft lamplight glows behind her. Phil squints his eyes to look at her. She pats the cushion. He takes another deep breath and slowly sinks down beside her.

He's consciously aware of the time. He was careful to make note of it earlier tonight. He knows he's not breaking curfew, and his mother is not one to stay up late. He swallows nervously. He thinks about the girl, the car, the big field and the rain. It drips. It drips again. The sound is louder than it should be.

"Did you have a nice time tonight?"

Her voice is gentle and low. She clasps her hands together in her lap. Patiently, she awaits his reply.

"Yeah."

His voice is merely a breath. He rests his hands on his knees. Anxiously, he awaits her response.

But it's not what he expected. He expected her to smile and nod her head and make a simple comment like 'good' or 'that's great' or 'I'm glad', but she doesn't. Instead, she casts her eyes downward. But why? It was a normal, polite question. Though, it was one that is usually asked over breakfast and with much more enthusiasm. He briefly wonders if she's disappointed upon hearing he had a nice time. He wonders if she feels guilty too.

"Mom?" he whispers as his hand twitches again.

Slowly, she meets his eyes. He holds his breath. He wants to be in the car. Why can't he be in the car?

"Something happened this afternoon."

She speaks so slowly as if he won't understand her words. A trace of frustrated impatience flows through his veins.

"What's going on?"

The water drips. He can't believe how loud it is. He can't believe he can hear such a tiny, insignificant noise through the heavy downpour, through the rush of blood in his body. It drips again. He's tempted to shout out his annoyance.

"Your dad and Pim are asleep."

He doesn't care. He assumed as much. He just wishes she'd get to the point all ready. He just really wishes he was with _her_.

"I thought it might be better for me to speak to you about this alone."

Speak about what? Why would it be better? And if that water doesn't stop dripping, he's going to scream.

"Phil..."

His hand nearly jumps off his knee. The skin tingles, but he doesn't look at it. He's afraid he'll see the needles that he feels.

She's speaking, but he's not listening. He all ready knows what she has to say. His heart knew the second his feet hit the sidewalk. His heart knew the moment he felt the rain. His heart knew the minute he watched her drive away.

No. His heart knew before that. With that last touch, that last kiss, that last breath against breath, his heart knew. Maybe even before that. Maybe back when he didn't realize...maybe his heart knew. It should have told him. It _did_ tell him. It should have said it in a louder voice. But happiness is hard to speak through.

"...home."

Back to his past. Back to his past in the future. It's ridiculous. It doesn't even make sense. And he doesn't care. He did once. He cared a great deal. His past being in the future wasn't ridiculous; it was intriguing and exciting and perfectly acceptable. He didn't know anything else. All he knew was home. All he wanted was to return to it. But..he..didn't..know..anything..else.

The water drips. His hand trembles. His patience grows thin. He closes his eyes and squeezes his hand into a fist.

"Honey...I know that--"

"Stop!"

He's standing, but he doesn't remember rising to his feet. He didn't mean to raise his voice. The dripping hasn't stopped. The trembling hasn't stopped. The only thing that obeyed his command was her voice. She sighs, and he could almost laugh out loud. Does she think his reaction was uncalled for? Does she think he's being too dramatic? Does she think telling him that in two days he'll be a hundred-plus years away from his entire universe wouldn't make him even the slightest bit upset?

"Phil, I--"

"I don't want you to tell me you understand, Mom." He sadly shakes his head. "I don't want you to tell me everything is going to be ok."

"I understand the reasons why you want to stay here, Phil. I really do," she says sympathetically.

"There's only one reason."

"You care about Keely, I get that, Phil, but--"

He stares at her in shock. "No, I don't _care_ about her." The water drips. "I'm in love with her."

"Yes, I know. I know."

"Then why are you doing this?"

Her heart nearly breaks at the sight of her son's pain. "Phil, no one is trying to hurt you. We're going home. Don't you want to go home? Don't you want to go back to your life?"

"My life?" He scoffs. "If my life is waiting for me in the future, then what do I have right now?" He spreads his arms out. "What is all this if it's not life?"

"I know you have a life here too. That's why your dad and I decided to give you and Pim a couple days to...tie up loose ends."

"_Tie up_? You actually think I can just _tie up _my relationship with Keely?"

She doesn't respond. A curt, bitter laugh escapes him. "Well, that's very considerate of you and Dad."

"Phil, I think y--"

"All of this is your fault."

The water drips.

"You pushed me and Pim to go to school, to make friends, to become involved and live like we belong in this century...You wanted me to get the life I have here."

The water drips again.

"You should have warned us. You should have..."

She doesn't speak. She doesn't blink. He hangs his head. He moves to the stairs. And the water drips.

"Time heals, right, Mom?" he asks in a small voice. The childlike tone pulls at her heart, threatening to split it into pieces. He swallows hard and softly clears his throat. "Well," he whispers, "let's see what a hundred years can do."

Walking up the stairs, he doesn't even feel his feet touch the surface. He doesn't feel the smoothness of the banister. But he does feel the stinging in his hand and the stabbing in his chest.

Helplessly, she watches him go. Morning will come soon and she'll wait for it.

His bedroom is dark, but he doesn't bother to switch on a light. He doesn't bother to remove his shoes or to change his clothes. He steps to the bed, and he sees the calendar. The marks contrast with the white background. They mock him. He wants to rip it from the wall, but he can't. It's from her. It _is_ her. It's her silly love for furry felines and her sappy tendency to be a total girl. And it's her unwavering need to irritate him, but, also, her unsurpassed ability to make him...

Complete.

And because of that, he needs her now more than ever. He desperately wants to go to her, but he can't. He could walk right out of this house without a care for the late hour and the repercussions. He could easily walk through the rain, through the darkened neighborhood, up to her house, and bang his fist on her front door. He could brush by her bewildered mom, march upstairs, and burst into her bedroom.

And he could take her in his arms and promise to her, to himself, to the heavens above that he will never let her go.

But he can't. He can't make that promise. And the only thing keeping him from doing the rest is his fear. He is absolutely terrified. He can't go to her right now. He can't look her in the eyes and tell her that he's leaving her. He can't throw all their time together in her face like it doesn't mean anything to him. He can't let her think that he is willing to give up everything they have as if it is nothing at all.

He sits on the edge of his bed. He breathes out a long sigh. The rain splashes against his windows. The thunder quietly rumbles.

He wants to be in that car.

He rests against his pillows. He closes his eyes to keep his vision from swimming as the thoughts overwhelm him.

He wants to be with her.

And while the rain gently lulls his exhausted body to sleep, he hopes his dreams will take him there.

But the dreams never came. By the time he became conscious of the sounds of his family going about their daily routines, he had spent the remainder of the night in a fitful mix of painful nightmares and sweaty awakenings.

He rubs his eyes. The absence of sunlight leaves his room a dull grey. It couldn't be more perfect. He rises from his bed. His entire body is sore and stiff. Gingerly twisting his neck and back side to side, he sees the calendar again. It's Saturday. And tomorrow is Sunday. And the next day, he'll be gone.

He shudders.

But today is Saturday. And she's coming to see him. They have plans, actually, she has plans to shop for something 'awesomely unique' to wear on the first day of the new school year... He plans to watch her try on at least thirty outfits. He plans to act like he's bored and indifferent and hide the fact that he'll feel incredibly lucky to spend the whole day with her.

But plans are meaningless. They are not set in stone; they can't be. He wonders why people even bother making them at all?

Still, she'll be coming soon, and he should be ready. And after a few minutes, he's freshly showered and clothed, but he isn't ready for her to come here. He'll never be ready now.

He stands like a statue at the top of the stairs. Dishes clang, cabinet doors slam, and soft murmurs fill the quiet moments in between. Everything sounds typical. No doubt, his dad is reading the newspaper and making some condescending comment on 21-first-century use of ink and paper to spread the word. His mom is cooking way too much food out of her fascination with present-day kitchen appliances and her pleasure taken in using a more hands-on approach to meal preparation. And his sister, well, she would normally be rolling her eyes and discussing the latest cruel injustice in her life or smiling sweetly and premeditating some fiendish scheme. But today, she is most likely chatting ecstatically, and uncharacteristically, about their journey back to the future.

Momentarily, he considers retreating to the comforting dull grey of his room, but his mom appears at the bottom of the stairs. She watches him for a few seconds. Her expression is soft, and when she finally speaks, her voice is warm.

"I saved you a plate."

His face remains blank.

"Why don't you come down and have some breakfast and we'll...talk."

He shakes his head.

She opens her mouth to speak again, but he all ready knows what she'll say, and instead of waiting to hear it, he says the only thing that will end this conversation before it can begin.

"I don't want to leave."

She knows this, but he says it anyway. It's all he can say right now. He slowly descends the stairs, steps around her, and walks to the front door. Without another word, without another glance, he disappears from her sight.

Outside on the steps, he waits for her. As the minutes tick off the clock, the damp cement dries under the partially clearing sky as the first few rays of golden light strike the surface. He smiles to himself. He can feel her approaching.

"So..mom's got the car today."

He glances up to see her familiar smiling face, but her eyes are different. That smile doesn't quite reach them.

"Hope you're up for a walk."

He nods and stands. There is a tension between them that almost makes him laugh. He hasn't felt this way around her in such a long time. And from her slightly guarded body language, he imagines she must feel it too. He wonders if her heart has spoken to her as well.

"Are you ready to go?"

The question, the simple and direct question, echoes in his mind. He should tell her. He should tell her as soon as possible. The sooner the better, right? Isn't that what people say? Isn't sooner really better?

But he can't tell her here like this. He can't tell her as they stand outside his house in the morning sunshine. He can't tell her as the daily joggers pass by on the sidewalk. He can't tell her as the neighborhood kids ride their bikes through the street. He can't tell her like this.

"Phil?"

He wants to take her somewhere, anywhere else. He wants to take her to a quiet place. But they have plans to shop today, and this could be the last time that they...

"Yeah," he says as he clears his throat, "let's go."

She knows something is wrong. She's known this boy far too long to not know when he's different. She admits to herself, she hasn't always been so perceptive, but today, and lately, and over the course of their relationship, as their bond has strengthened and deepened beyond what she could have ever thought possible, she easily picks up on the changes.

She wants to question him. She wants to understand what he feels. She wants to know if he feels the same thing she feels, the same thing she felt last night, and the same thing she's been feeling for a while now. She wants to ask him if something happened, but she's afraid he'll confirm her worst fear.

When he reaches out to take her hand in his, she is surprised by the lack of familiar warmth there. "Phil, your hand is _freezing_," she says light-heartedly despite her worrisome curiosity.

"It is?" he asks flatly, glancing down as if the cold from his hand can actually be seen.

Keely takes it between her palms and rubs gently. "Like an ice-cube." She blows a warm breath onto his skin. "Better?"

He doesn't know. He wasn't even aware that his hand was ever cold. It shouldn't be cold. It's balmy outside. She raises her eyebrow at him. He shrugs. "Must have been from the..uh..juice.. I had earlier."

Keely nods her head.

"Yeah, it was...some very cold...juice." He smiles half-heartedly. "But it's better now...yeah."

"Hey, Phil?"

He watches her expectantly.

"We don't really have to go shopping, you know, if you don't want to."

"Why would you say that?"

She shrugs. "I just..I don't know..you seem kinda..."

"I'm fine, Keel."

A lie never sounds good coming from his mouth. She feels a little disappointed and hurt that he's not being honest with her, but she's not going to call him on it.

"We...made plans...to go shopping," he says uneasily, "and that's what we're going to do."

"Are you sure? You're not...I mean, you're feeling up to it?"

He smiles, genuinely this time. "I want to spend the day with you, Keel. I'm up for anything."

"Even if that anything turns out to be a very long two, three hours in a department store fitting room?"

He laughs lightly. "Even if."

Keely glances down at his hand still in her own. It's warmer now.

"Come on," he says tugging her along.

Naturally, willingly, always willingly, she follows him.

As they stroll along the sidewalk on their way to the mall, she steadily falls into an excited, and primarily one-sided, conversation about what treasures may await her in her favorite stores. And as he nods his head, laughs at the appropriate times, and occasionally interjects a 'yeah' or 'nah', he thinks about what happens after today. What happens after the mall, and the plethora of stores, and hours of sitting on cheap, plastic chairs? What happens after the food court stop and her favorite gumball machine?

He should tell her. He should abruptly halt and take her by the shoulders and look her in the eyes and tell her. But it's not that easy. How does he tell the girl he loves that he's leaving her? How does a person do that? It's easy. His mind tells him that much. But his heart reminds him of what comes after the words. What does he do after he tells her? What comes after the easy part?

He glances over at her. She's laughing about something, but he doesn't know what that something is. She looks at him. He just smiles. She seems to accept that. She breathes out a sigh and slightly tightens her grip on his hand. He really should tell her.

But the day holds so much promise. It holds so much potential happiness and relaxation. The day promises easy and normal. It promises simplicity and trivial fun. And it promises love, a love that has survived betrayal and loss of trust and hurt and anger and resentment and tears. He can't take that away from her. He can't take that away from himself.

The day will go as planned. They will laugh and joke and walk through the mall holding hands and showing the world, proving to the world, that they are in love and they are happy and nothing threatens them. He has to do that. It maybe wrong, it maybe selfish, it maybe against his better judgment, but he absolutely has to do that. If the day doesn't go as planned, if it isn't a good day, he could miss his last chance to be with her without fear, sadness, anger, pain, and complete and utter heartbreak.

And the day is going exactly as planned.

"Ok, what about this one?"

He shakes his head. "I like the blue one."

She frowns. "Really?"

"Yeah, it doesn't have those..." he says gesturing to her blouse, "fuzzy things on it."

She glances down at her top and flicks at one of the fuzzy balls hanging on the end of her hood strings. "What's wrong with fuzzy?"

He shrugs. "Um...well...fuzzy is..."

"Playful and warm."

"Warm," he says snapping his fingers. "That's the thing."

She raises her eyebrows. "What thing?"

"It's summer. You don't need warm."

She scoffs. "Yeah, but they're," she says holding up the strings and giving them a shake, "just decorative accessories."

"Exactly, why would a summer shirt have fuzzy warm decorative accessories on it anyway?"

"Huh." She looks in the mirror and nods. "That's a good point." She turns back to him. "All right. Negative on the fuzzy." She holds up another shirt. "Blue it is then."

"Great. Now can we get some food?" he asks rubbing his empty, and angry-sounding, stomach.

Keely grins. "Uh huh. Just a sec." She ducks back into the fitting room. "You know, I still really like this shirt. I'm gonna buy it anyway."

Phil rolls his eyes and tries to ignore his sharp hunger pains. "I can save it for cooler weather." She steps out of the fitting room with a smile and her arms loaded with purchases to be made.

"That way you won't be embarrassed to be seen with the girl wearing a shirt that contradicts the season."

He chuckles. "So you're just going to keep it on stand-by for some random day in Oc..to...ber..."

"Phil?"

He didn't realize. But now he realizes.

"Are you in there, Phil?" she asks slowly as she waves her hand in front of his face.

"Uh..yeah..I'm in...here." He smiles weakly. "Here I am."

She eyes him skeptically. He ignores her and points to her selections. "Ready to check out?"

"Wait."

He turns back to her. "What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

She sighs and sets her things on one of the cheap, plastic chairs. "I sensed a vibe this morning."

He shrugs. "A vibe? What vibe?"

"You're hiding something from me."

"That's just, that's...that's crazy, Keel." He shakes his head. "I think you're just on shopping overload." He takes a few steps back. "You need to refuel, come on."

"Phil."

The tone, the tone that means business, instantly freezes him.

"Tell me what's going on."

Her request is soft despite her firm stance. The concern and worry in her eyes is clearly evident. But he can't tell her. Not here.

"I know it's something," she says looking down at the floor. "and I hoped..." She swallows nervously. "I _hope_ it's not what I think it is," she says quietly as she lifts her head to look at him again.

He glances down at his feet, takes a quiet breath, and very slowly meets her eyes.

"No," she whispers. She shakes her head. "No, this is...this is a...bad rerun."

"I think..." He sighs. "This time is..."

A cheerful sales associate approaches them with a wide smile plastered on her face. "Can I help you two find anything?" she asks in an annoying voice that makes Phil cringe on the inside.

"No, we're fi..fine." He nods. "Thank you," he says quietly and she walks away.

"Keely."

She narrows her eyes at him. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me this morning?"

"I thought th--"

"Thought you'd get in one last hurrah," she says throwing her hands in the air, "before dropping the bombshell of my life on me?"

He shakes his head. "No, that's not it. I just--" He sighs as a couple of shoppers rudely walk between them. "I don't think this is the place to talk about this," he says in a quiet voice.

"You're absolutely right about that, Phil. The place to talk about this was at your house." She adds in a near shout, "Four hours ago!"

"Keely, can we please take this somewhere else?"

"Why? What's the big deal?" She shrugs. "How about I just yell out for the entire store to hear...that Phil Diffy is from the fu--"

His hand clamps down over her mouth. His other hand grabs her wrist and he pulls her out of the store to the nearest exit much to her protest and much to the bewilderment of the other mall-goers. Quickly, he finds an outside doorway and practically drags her through it onto the sidewalk as she mumbles behind his hand the whole way.

Once he removes his hand, she points her finger at his chest. "Don't you ever do that to me again!"

"I had to, Keely. You were about to--"

"Tell everyone your little secret?" She scoffs. "So what? Like it matters?"

"Yes, it matters."

"Why! You're _leaving_!"

She stares at him in shock. "You're..." She can't get the words out. Suddenly, she's severely lacking oxygen.

Phil takes a step towards her, but she takes a step back away from him. "You're leaving." The disbelief in her voice is unmistakable.

"You're leaving...me," she says in a pained whisper as the tears well up.

"Keely," he says moving forward again, but she holds up her hand and moves beyond his reach.

"Don't."

He finds himself in short supply of air as well. "I'm sorry," he offers meekly.

His weak apology doesn't even register with her. "When?"

He hangs his head. "Monday morning."

It's too soon. She bitterly laughs at herself. No, anytime is too soon. Days, weeks, months, years, fifty years from now...it's all too soon. She knew better. She knew this was a bad idea. She could kick herself for what she's done.

"How could I have been so stupid?"

Phil looks back up at her and furrows his brow. "What?"

She blinks back the tears. "Being friends with you was one thing...but falling in love with you..."

"Was not a mistake, Keely. Don't say that."

She scoffs. "I let myself fall for a guy from the next century, Phil! Tell me that's not the dumbest move ever!"

He shakes his head. "But we loved each other, we _love_ each other. We can't help that I'm from the future."

"So? I knew who you were, and I still... I knew you'd leave someday."

"It's not your fault, Keely. It's no one's fau..fault."

He realizes his mistake. He blamed his parents. He wrongly blamed his mom. He had to blame something. He blamed his parents. And Keely's blaming herself. But who else can they blame?

She turns her head to keep him from seeing the single teardrop fall onto her cheek. She hastily wipes it away. "You can't leave me," she whispers as she turns back to face him. "Not now..when we're..."

He slowly steps towards her. "I don't want to leave you, Keely."

"Then don't."

"I have to."

"Why?" She scoffs. "'Cause the universe says so?"

He sighs. "My family says so."

"But how can th..." Her voice falters and she takes a breath to steady herself. "How can they take you away from me?"

Phil sadly shakes his head. "They're not doing this, Keely. Believe me, I tried to blame them, but it's not their fault. It's just the way things are."

"But things don't have to be this way. You guys could stay. You've all ready been here so long."

The small glimmer of hope in her voice almost makes him believe they really could stay, but just believing in something isn't enough to make it happen. It's not enough to make it true. And the real truth dawns upon him.

"The future is my family's home, Keel," he says slowly. "They miss it."

"But they like it here."

"But it's not where they want to be for the rest of their lives."

She asks quietly, "And what about you? What do you want?"

"I want..." He sighs. He wants so many things, but... "I want what's best for my family," he says slowly.

"And me?" she asks in a whisper.

"I want you more than you'll ever know, Keely." The strong conviction in his voice almost makes her believe he could really stay, but almost isn't enough.

He shakes his head gently. "But I have to..."

She realizes the truth. She dips her chin and stares at the ground. "I know you didn't promise me."

Phil furrows his brow slightly. She lifts her head. "I wasn't asleep yet."

"I'm sorry, Keel."

"You couldn't promise me...so you didn't." She nods. "I should be thankful for that." She wipes another tear from the corner of her eye. "You knew you couldn't keep your promise, but you still..."

She takes a deep breath. "You still made me think that..." Her voice fails her again. "You didn't promise, but you still..."

"I know," he whispers. "I'm sorry."

She scoffs. "Yeah...you keep saying that." She takes a couple of steps backwards. "But it's not gonna change anything."

"Keely, wait, please."

She holds up her hand. "I need to...not be...with you right now."

He stops a few feet away from her. Though his heart is breaking, he stops. He wants to take her in his arms, but he stops.

She stares at him for a few seconds, and, suddenly, a memory very reminiscent of this moment, enters her mind. She can his faint voice in her head. But those words are no comfort to her now. That won't happen now. The thought is almost funny.

With tears nearly at their breaking point, with all her self-control nearly spent, she breathes out a shaky breath.

"How are you going to fix me now, Phil?"

He closes his eyes, and when he finally opens them, she's gone. He doesn't even know for how long. Seconds? Minutes?

Surely, he can't be here.

Because time travel isn't possible.

Because time doesn't exist.

Because in that precise moment, time completely stopped.


	15. Chapter 15

I cannot believe that I watched 'The Video'. Stupid! I couldn't resist. I had to. But now, oddly, I've lost my motivation for writing Pheely. Never thought that day would come. Alas, I shall carry on with this story to the last chapter, which is currently sitting at lucky number 17 according to my plan anyhow. Wait, is 17 lucky? Is it unlucky? Do I even believe in luck? I still haven't caught up on the entire night's worth of sleep I missed waiting for the video to be posted. I must be more obsessed than I thought. Or hoped. Is anyone else bothered by the five or six hundred holes the writers poked in their own show? Well, since I had the ending for this story written out _before_ being spoiled, I'll stick to the original plan. And I've been advised to not give into pressure regarding the outcome of this fic. Take that however you wish.

Wow..this chapter's short (for my standards) and kinda different than the rest in other ways. I'm not loving it. And hopefully, this time, I won't delete it.

Thanks everyone!

Chapter 15

"Are you all right, son?"

Upon hearing the deep voice, Phil blinks slowly and focuses his eyes on the unfamiliar face in front of him.

"I've been sweeping all up and down this sidewalk for a good while now...and I've covered every inch but the few you're standing on."

He points down at Phil's feet.

"Oh," Phil replies as he takes a single step back. "Sorry."

"It's fine." The old man shrugs. "I'm not in any hurry to get someplace."

Phil nods distractedly as he stares at the spot of sidewalk he recently occupied.

"Seems the same could be said for you."

He blinks again. "Yeah...um..I guess I just..."

"Lost track of time?"

Phil nods, and the old man laughs. "Women have a way of making that happen...Don't they?"

The old man looks off in the direction Keely had left in a long time ago. "Especially..." he says glancing back at Phil, "the ones we're crazy about."

Phil mutters, "Yeah."

The old man smiles and continues sweeping. "I couldn't help but overhear," he says over his shoulder, "My shift began just about the time she said something about a... promise?"

Phil swallows hard, and the old man nods his head. "I've seen that look before many times. And all because some pretty girl walked away."

"Maybe I should've gone after her," Phil says with a heavy sigh.

"Maybe."

The old man turns his back on him and keeps sweeping. Phil furrows his brow. "Um, I don't mean to sound rude, sir, but...were you going to say something else? Or was reminding me of the worst moment of my life all you had in mind."

The old man chuckles and turns back to him. "You think because I've got more wrinkles than you've got years that I have some great wisdom to bestow upon you?"

Phil shrugs.

"Most young kids like yourself don't want to hear what an old man like me has got to say."

"So...you _do_ have some advice?"

"I've got decades of advice, son," he says with a smile. "Decades."

"Anything in those decades for me?" Phil asks hopefully.

"Could be." The old man raises his gray eyebrow. "That might depend on you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what's the promise you couldn't make?"

Phil glances down at his feet. "To never leave her."

"And is that what you're doing?"

"Yes," he replies quietly.

"Leaving her for what?"

Phil looks back at the old man. "My family is...moving away."

"Ah. Family." He continues sweeping lightly.

"There comes a time in every man's life when he must make that sacrifice."

Phil furrows his brow again. "Sacrifice?"

The old man nods. "Leaving the nest. Leaving behind his caregivers, the first people to love him..." He halts his motions and looks into Phil's eyes. "For the girl."

The girl. Phil frowns. It explains everything..the girl..but it doesn't quite do her any justice. She's so much more than that.

The old man shakes his head slightly. "But you're not a man...are you, son?"

Realization dawns upon him, and it hurts more now than it ever did before. He lowers his eyes to the ground.

"Then I reckon you know where that leaves you," the old man says slowly.

Phil sighs. "But I don't think she gets that."

"We never understand while our hearts are breaking." He shrugs. "We can't hear the voice of reason from all the shattering of glass."

Phil hangs his head, and the old man smiles gently. "But love..a real love..is understanding of all things."

He looks back up at the kind stranger with sorrow in his dark eyes. "But I still have to leave her."

"Oh, no, son. Quite the contrary," the old man replies with a firm shake of his head. "You can't leave her if she's a part of you."

He nostalgically gazes off into the distance with a sparkle in his eye and a small smile upon his lips. "You take her with you." He looks back at Phil. "You'll always have her."

Phil nods. "I think I knew that."

"Of course you did. We all know it." He chuckles softly and continues sweeping. "We just don't always remember it."

His broom sweeps across the space on the sidewalk where 'the girl' had previously been. He bends down and scoops up nothing but thin air, and he turns back to Phil.

"Here."

The old man stretches out his arm to him.

"Um..."

He smiles and gestures for Phil to hold out his hand. Despite his confusion, Phil complies. The old man seemingly drops something into his palm. "You take those pieces back to her."

Phil stares blankly at his empty hand.

"Maybe you can't fix her the way she'd want you to..." Phil glances back at him. "But you still have to give her back the pieces."

The old man goes back to his sweeping. Phil watches him for a few moments until he pauses and gives him one last comforting smile.

"Just maybe...in time...she can fix herself."

Slowly, Phil nods his appreciation and walks away from the wise man with thin gray hair, glasses resting on the tip of his nose, and a well-worn navy blue jumpsuit. He looks down at his hand again. The pieces. He wonders if they're the same pieces that broke off before? He broke her heart once. And now... He's broken her heart twice. How many times can the pieces fall?

A light gust of wind whips by him, and he quickly closes his hand into a tight fist. Feeling slightly foolish for his actions, he glances side to side as if someone had noticed him and actually knew why he so suddenly curled his fingers into the palm of his hand. He laughs quietly at himself, but he still waits until the breeze dies down before he looks again.

Maybe he shouldn't have told her at all. Maybe he should have just left. That would have been easier. For both of them.

Maybe he is the one to blame. He's the one that wanted to love her. He knew the risks. And he knew the cost. Maybe the price was too much.

He stares at his empty palm and wonders if these pieces are the evidence? Another breeze blows by and he stuffs the hand into his pocket.

Night has fallen by the time he reaches his house. He stops outside the front door and recalls his conversation with her and the realization that came to him during it. He takes a deep breath and steps inside.

His mom is coming down the stairs. "Hi."

"Hey." He clears his throat. "Where's Dad?"

"He's making a few last minute adjustments to the ti--" She shakes her head. "He's outside."

"I have something to tell both of you."

She nods. "Ok, I'll go get him then."

He notices Pim milling about in the living room with a plastic sack weighted down by some unknown objects. He raises his eyebrow and moves to stand closer to her, but she doesn't acknowledge his presence.

"Pim?"

As she bends down to the coffee table, she glances up at him with a frown. "You didn't run away," she says flatly.

"Noo..."

She rolls her eyes, but then quickly places her hand to her chest and smiles. "Thank goodness."

Phil just ignores her and points down at her sack. "What are you doing?"

"Collecting artifacts," she replies evenly as she retrieves an item from the table.

"That's the TV remote controller."

She holds it up for closer inspection. "Ooh...you're good, Diffy." She grabs up the cordless phone. "Tell me what this is!"

He's unimpressed with her humor. She just shrugs and dumps the phone into her sack and walks away as their parents enter from the kitchen.

"I'm just sayin' he might still be really up--" His dad stops in his tracks. "Upstairs? That's where I left the..uh..thing?"

Phil holds up his hand. "It's ok, Dad. I _was _really upset, but now I'm..." He frowns. "Well, I don't know...but, I do know that I owe you guys an apology."

His mom shakes her head. "We understand, Phil."

"That maybe true, but I still have to tell you that I'm sorry. I was wrong to blame you."

He drops down onto the couch and looks down at his lap. "When we got stuck here, I was prepared to make friends and eventually leave them." He sighs and whispers, "I just wasn't prepared for her."

He glances up at his parents. "Well, anyway, that's not your fault, and I'm sorry I made you think it was."

"Phil, I know," his dad says gently before gesturing at his wife, "we know..how important Keely is to you."

He nods. "I know you do. It's ok."

His mom asks softly, "Have you told her?"

"I did."

"You should go to her," his dad offers.

"No," he replies shaking his head, "I learned a valuable lesson several months ago, Dad." Off his confused expression, he adds, "I'll see her tomorrow." His dad is still completely clueless. Phil adds a comforting, "I'll explain it to you someday."

His dad just shrugs and heads back into the kitchen. Phil's mom smiles. "Yes, please do that." She adds in a whisper, "He could use the advice."

She winks and leaves her son alone to attempt to prepare for the thing he must say and isn't prepared to say to the person he wasn't prepared for. He sighs heavily and glances at his watch. Well, time may have stopped earlier, but it sure is flying now.

He leans his head back against the cushions and stares up at the ceiling. Yes, tomorrow will come much too soon.

And by Sunday afternoon, Keely is experiencing her own struggles with the minutes rapidly ticking off the clock. She stands in the middle of her bedroom and narrows her eyes at the numbers. 2:46 becomes 2:47. The ease and the disregard are what nearly kills her. Another minute gone from another hour. And the day keeps running fast into night..into tomorrow..and into the rest of her life. And it doesn't care. And, apparently, Phil doesn't care either. The thought irritates and angers her. It hurts too. But maybe it's for the best. Maybe the fact that he hasn't shown his face yet is a good thing. Or, at least, better than the alternative. After all, there's only one thing left for them to do now.

Before another minute can pass, she reaches out and knocks the alarm clock off the beside table. It crashes to the floor, and the numbers disappear. She smiles her satisfaction as a voice calls to her from the other side of the door.

"Keely?"

She cringes. "Uh..." She looks around her room at the disaster she has created. "Via..I'm not..I'm kinda busy right now."

"Busy getting ready perchance?"

"Ready?" she says quietly to herself in confusion. "Oh yeah. Movie."

"Keely?"

The door knob turns and she's there to stop it in three quick strides. "Via, don't come--"

"In."

Her friend's eyes widen. "Oh my..." She looks at Keely with concern written on her face. "What happened?"

"Nothing." She gestures to the mess. "I'm just...organizing...a few things."

"Organizing a few things? Don't you mean, piling all your belongings onto the floor?"

Keely shrugs. "Well I started with cds, and then I saw the magazines over there, " she says pointing to a small shelf, "And then they reminded me of clothes which made me think of shoes and then--"

"Keely," Via says softly. "Have you been crying?"

She scoffs. "No."

Via raises her eyebrow.

"Dust. I'm highly allergic." She laughs. "I should really clean more often."

"All right," Via says carefully.

Keely shakes her head. "You mean you bought that?"

"No, but those lame excuses of yours usually mean that you don't want to talk about what's really bothering you."

She frowns. "Am I really that transparent?"

Via smiles compassionately. "I like to think I know you fairly well."

"You're a good friend, Via."

"Thank y--"

"But you would have been a _great_ friend if only you would've refused to let me start dating Phil Diffy."

Via furrows her brow. "Excuse me?"

Keely sighs. "Forget it."

"Are you and Phil fighting?" Via asks carefully.

"He's moving," she replies quietly.

"Really?" Via takes a moment to process that. "To where?"

"Uh...it's really...far."

"When is he going?"

"Tomorrow."

Via raises her eyebrows in surprise. "That's soon."

Keely shrugs. "Yeah, it's um..." She says abruptly, "His dad got a new job and...uh...he's...gotta start right away so...they have to leave...right away."

"Tomorrow."

"Yeah...tomorrow."

Via shakes her head slightly. "Well..I don't know what to say," she says slowly.

Keely sighs. "There's nothing to say. It's over."

"Oh, don't be so dire, Keely."

She scoffs. "Via, in less than twenty-four hours my boyfriend's gonna be gone."

"But that doesn't mean it has to be over." She smiles. "What about phone calls, letters, emails, instant messaging, or maybe even a visit?"

Keely bites down on her lip.

"Long distance relationships are tough, I presume, but I'm sure if two people are so committed to each other like you and Phil are, then it can work out."

Briefly closing her eyes, Keely slumps down onto the edge of her bed. "Via..." She takes a deep breath. "You are my best friend, and...I trust you 110 percent, and...I know that Phil would trust you too."

"Ok..." Via clears a small space and sits next to her.

"There's something about Phil...something only I know."

Keely looks down at her lap.

"So, what is it?"

She can trust Via. She does trust Via. And he wouldn't mind if she told his secret to someone who would never betray it. And telling her would make things less complicated to explain. Slowly, she lifts her head and takes another deep breath.

"Phil is from the..."

Several seconds of silence pass. "The what?" Via shrugs. "East coast? Netherlands?

"Future."

Via furrows her brow.

"As in the 22nd century kind of future."

Via raises her eyebrow.

"That would be the next one after the current one," Keely offers.

"Yes."

With caution, Keely says, "Either you're taking this news extremely well...or you think I've lost my mind."

Via replies slowly, "It's a toss up at this point."

Keely sighs. "I shouldn't have told you." She throws her hands in the air. "I can't believe I kept a secret for two years. Two years!" She frowns in disgust. "And then just--"

"Really? That long?"

"Yeah."

She nods. "So Phil_ is _from the future."

"You believe me?"

"Oddly enough...yes." She shrugs. "It explains a few things I've wondered about."

Keely smiles in understanding.

"He's not moving..." Via asks softly, "Is he?"

Her smile instantly fades. "A hundred or so years instead of a hundred or so miles."

"That really is a long distance relationship."

"The longest."

After a few minutes, Via stands up. "Wow." She looks down at Keely sympathetically. "I haven't any advice for that I'm afraid."

She hangs her head. "No, I didn't think so."

"I'm sorry, Keely. You must be...devastated."

Fresh tears appear in her red-rimmed eyes.

"I think devastated is still to come..."

She stares at the broken clock on the floor.

"Right now..." she whispers.

"...I'm just trying to remember to breathe..."


	16. Chapter 16

The lyrics belong to Sophie Zelmani. The song is "I'll Remember You." I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use it. Thanks, reviewers! You guys are great!

Chapter 16

The sun casts its final rays through the heavy summer haze. As he walks along the sidewalk, he can feel the heat rising from its surface through the soles of his shoes. He can feel the air surrounding him, pressing upon him. He glances up at the cloudless sky. It isn't quite as blue as he expected it to be.

He hears a soft sound and turns his head to see a neighbor's front door closing. A car slowly drives by and the man sitting behind the wheel offers him a polite wave. He can smell the fragrance of flowers and heated asphalt.

His neighborhood. His home. The street he has traveled alongside for so long now... so many times in this direction.

He glances down at the sidewalk and smiles. He remembers every time they've walked this path in a comfortable silence, in a lively conversation, in a awkward pause... in sadness and anger. And now, he walks alone with his fear and dread. He carries the weight for them both.

His smile fades, and he looks around at the neighborhood again, at the familiar houses and lawns. It's just a town. He could put his finger on a thousand different points on a map, and they would be the same as this. The place isn't special. It's just a town. But it's his home. And it means the world to him, but only because she does. She is here. This is where she'll be after tonight and after tomorrow.

And for that single reason, this place becomes special. It becomes more than just a typical town. Because of her, it's extraordinary.

He's not sure if the thickness of the air is responsible for his lack of breath as her house comes into view, and suddenly, he can feel his heartbeat pound against the cement under his feet. As he steps up to her front door, he can feel himself moving though he's standing perfectly still. And by the time he's climbing the stairs, his neck can barely support his head.

And when he knocks on the door, before she appears, as he thinks about facing the last night he will spend with...perfection... he feels everything and absolutely nothing.

"Hey."

She seems surprised to see him, and that bothers him. Did she think he wouldn't come? Should he have come sooner?

"No."

For a moment, he wonders if she has read his thoughts, but then she slowly steps away from the door and hangs her head. "You're here to tell me goodbye..." She meets his eyes, and the despair inside them constricts his pulse. "And I have nothing to say to that."

"I don't have much time left, Keely...and I don't want tonight to be one big argument that isn't going to help matters anyway."

She crosses her arms over her chest. "Then maybe you shouldn't be here."

Phil steps inside her room and stands in front of her, close but not close enough. Never close enough. "Please tell me you don't mean that."

Wishing that she could mean it, but not having the strength to ever allow herself that, she shakes her head. "Of course I don't."

This moment isn't a surprise. She knew it would come someday, even though she tightly closed her eyes every night and wished it all away, even though every minute spent with him has been laced with a subconscious prayer to keep him here.

And even though with every touch of his hand to her skin, every kiss from his soft lips, every shine in his dark eyes, every tender embrace, every whisper to her soul, she knew this moment would come. The happiest of times could not erase that fact from the farthest recesses of her mind or her heart. She knew.

He stretches out his arm towards her. "I brought you something."

Carefully, she takes the items into her hands. "Our calendars."

"You always said you wanted them back for the pictures."

She flips through the most recent one until she finds the month of August. The perfectly drawn 'X's and the little happy faces are there. But then there is...

"What's this?" she asks pointing to the current square. "Today's marked with a... '8' turned on its side?"

Phil hides his smile. "Doesn't ring a bell?"

She holds the page closer to her face. "Hmm... yeah, actually it does." She looks back at him. "This is a math thing, isn't it?"

He nods his head pridefully pleased with her recognition of the symbol. "Infinity."

She whispers the word under her breath, and Phil steps closer to her and says in a low voice that always makes her shiver, "I told you there wasn't a calendar in the world big enough to measure our time together."

Expectantly, the calendars fall to the floor as her arms wrap tightly around his neck. Naturally, his arms encircle her waist. They remain locked in the warmth of their embrace for several minutes, but they are not aware of the time that has passed. Nor do they care to be.

As a few tears form but do not fall, as she hangs onto him with every ounce of strength inside her, she closes her eyes and smiles. Time didn't have any regard for her; she will do it the same respect. She pulls him impossibly closer to her until the fine line between her ending and his beginning no longer exists.

"Um..Keel," he says with a small gasp for air, "you're kind of cutting...off my...circulation."

She giggles into the curve of his neck. "I'm sorry," she whispers and steps back to hold him at arms length.

He inhales deeply. "Ok, got my one breath." He slides his arms back into their rightful place and pulls her to him again. "More hug."

Keely laughs as her misty eyes sparkle. Phil shakes his head as she bends forward and wraps her arm around her middle as the fit of laughter overtakes her.

"Well, this is not how I pictured this."

She moves from his grasp and sits on her bed. "Yeah, I might be on the verge of hysteria here."

"Can I join you?"

"Be my guest."

He sits next to her on the bed and holds her hand in his lap. He chuckles. "Folie a deux."

"Gesundheit."

"It's French."

"No, I think it's German."

He smiles. "I meant what I said is French. A madness shared by two."

"Huh?"

"Hysteria.. you.. me..."

"Got ya."

After a few moments, she sighs and looks at him with a solemn expression. "Phil..this isn't supposed to be...light-hearted."

He shrugs. "But that's Phil and Keely."

She shakes her head. "But this is Phil _leaving_ Keely. Forever."

He sighs and looks away. He notices the lack of a readout on the alarm clock on her bedside table. He notices a small crack in the plastic. He furrows his brow and glances around the room. Several items seem out of place or haphazardly positioned. A pile of clothes and shoes and cds and magazines occupies a corner. He turns back to look at her as she stares down at her hand cradled in his resting on his thigh.

"I know..." he says slowly, "you don't want me to be your soul mate, Keel, but--"

"You are," she says softly as her thumb gently runs over the smooth skin of the back of his hand.

He smiles and mentally thanks the heavens for her confession. "Well, remember what I told you I believe about soul mates?"

She rolls her eyes. "How could I forget that depressing little speech?"

He nudges her side with his elbow. "Then you also remember the part about soul mates being together forever?"

"Yeah," she says with a sigh. "But not _together_ together."

Reaching out to place his fingers along her jaw, he gently commands her to look at him. "This is just a temporary leave of absence."

She frowns. "So I gotta wait sixty or seventy years to die, thirty-odd years in the great white unknown for you to even be born, and then another seventy or so years for you to die so we can have the Phil and Keely soul mate reunion show?"

He winces. "Well, actually, life expectancy in the next century is a lot longer than it is right now due to advances in science and medicine and... " Off her exasperated expression, he quickly shuts his mouth. "Never mind."

He looks down at their joined hands. "I guess my supposed-to-be-romantic-and-inspiring-soul mate idea kind of tanked, did it?" he asks sullenly.

A thought suddenly occurs to her and she points an eager finger at him. "Hey, this really is just a temporary thing."

He glances over at her and smiles. "I'm glad you see--"

"'Cause you can come back."

"Come back?"

She nods happily. "Yeah, to visit." She laughs. "Just like the longest long distance relationship ever."

"Keel, I d--"

"We could do weekends, maybe even a day during the week or--"

"Keely."

"What?"

He sighs. "I've actually thought about that."

She bumps her shoulder against his. "Then why didn't you tell me?" She gestures at her room. "Here I've been moping around since yesterday for nothing." She shrugs. "I mean, it's not going to be the same as having you down the street and at school everyday and--"

"Keely."

"What?"

"I don't think.." he says slowly, "that would be such a great idea." He decides not to expand upon the complications behind his reasoning. Because of his family's time spent here, he might not even be able to come back even if the idea _was_ great.

She frowns. "Why not? Don't you want to come back to me?"

"I'd love to come back to you, Keel," he says quietly. "But do you...really think that would be...fair?"

"Fair?"

He nods. "What happens when weekly turns into monthly and then into every six months and then into holidays only?"

She shakes her head. "But that wouldn't happen."

"It's likely to," he says carefully. "Despite our best efforts against it."

Maybe he's right. Maybe. He usually is.

"I can't just keep coming back here whenever it's convenient and wedging myself into your life."

She scoffs. "Wedging into my life?" She sadly whispers, "Phil..you _are_ my life."

He sighs. "But maybe that's because I'm in practically every hour of it."

"And that's a bad thing?" she asks as she removes her hand from his.

"No, it's not bad at all, Keel. But if I'm not here for a few days or weeks or months and our lives change and we get involved in other things..." He shrugs. "Is it fair to you? Or me?" He asks quietly, "Is it fair to us?"

She lowers her eyes to the floor. He's right. She doesn't want him to be, but he is. It would never work. Not the way it should work. It would always be less. And they shouldn't ever be less.

"I just wouldn't want us to become an..obligation..or worse..a burden."

"No..I don't want that either." She meets his eyes again. "You know what I _do_ want though?"

"I want you to stay."

He opens his mouth to speak, but she shakes her head. "But I can't ask you to do that. I couldn't do that to your family. I couldn't do that to you."

The corner of his lips turn upwards. "That's good." He leans closer to her and whispers into her ear. "Because I just might choose you, Keel... I'd really, really want to choose you."

A light tingle tickles her spine and she giggles softly. "Well," she says turning to look into his eyes, "I can live with that."

"You know what _I_ want?"

A small lump forms at the back of her throat and her breath becomes shallow as he gazes at with raw emotional intensity.

"I want to be the one." He smiles softly. "I want to beg you not to...move on. But you deserve to be happy more than anyone, Keel... You have so much to give... and to share."

She briefly closes her eyes and whispers, "Phil..." She opens her eyes again and stares into his dark brown pools illuminated by the dim glow from her lamp. She can see his very soul. And in the midst of it, she can see a part of her own.

"You _are_ the one."

Looking at her now, the girl, the only girl, he realizes the price wasn't too much to pay, it'll never be too much. One day of this is worth the cost, and he is eternally thankful he ever knew her at all.

He takes her hand in his own again. "Keely, when we were friends, I loved you." He smiles. "You know that right?"

She laughs softly. "Yeah."

"I should have told you that a lot sooner, huh?"

"Well," she says with a shrug, "we definitely could've been enjoying the perks of being a couple for a lot longer than we have."

"They are pretty good perks, aren't they?"

Reclining back against her pillows, she nods her head. "Not too bad at all."

Phil shifts on her bed so he can maintain contact with her hand. He leans his back against her headboard and sighs lightly. "I didn't realize what I was missing."

She glances up at him. "What do you mean? The perks?"

He smiles. "No...I meant...I never gave love much thought," he says with a shrug. "I figured it was because I was young and love wasn't exactly a priority but..." He glances down at her. "Then I met you."

"Major priority," he says with a lopsided grin.

She rolls her eyes. "But you didn't fall in love with me then, Phil."

"No, I didn't," he says seriously. "I couldn't."

She furrows her brow.

"Because I've been in love with you my whole life, Keely." He chuckles. "I know that sounds like a really bad line from an overplayed love song, but--"

She tilts her head upwards and silences him with her lips. After a few minutes, she pulls back to look into his eyes and smiles. "I like really bad lines from overplayed love songs."

He inhales deeply to steady his breath. "If I quote another one...will you kiss me like that again?"

"_Boys_." She rolls her eyes. "It's good to know that your kind hasn't changed much in the future."

"I don't know, Keel," he says with a shake of his head. "I wasn't like this until I came here."

"Sure."

"I mean it." He shrugs. "I wasn't nearly this adorable until you became my girlfriend."

She cuts her eyes over at him, and he grins. "Yeah, you're so adorable, the girls are simply throwing themselves at your feet."

He scoffs. "They would be if not for that thing you do with your eyes and your mouth.." He shivers. "Very intimidating, the girls say."

"Please, Phil. Like I care if some random girl has the hots for my boyfriend." She lifts her chin. "I'm much too mature and secure to let such childish things bother me."

"Really."

She nods firmly.

"Sooo...you weren't jealous of..." He snaps his fingers. "What was her name?"

"Oh, you mean the gorgeous brunette with the intelligence of a genius and sense of humor and charm to match?"

"That's the one!" He shakes his head in disappointment. "How'd I ever let that one get away?"

Keely narrows her eyes at him. "Phil Diffy."

"Yeah, she was great, wasn't she?"

She opens her mouth to say something threatening, but he interrupts. "But..." he says with a sigh, "there was this blonde girl, much more gorgeous, much funnier, and much more charming, and much smar...yes, this blonde girl--"

"And much what?"

"What much what now?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about."

He shrugs. "But I don't."

"What is it with you and brainy girls?" she scoffs.

"Come on, I like non-brainy girls too."

Her mouth hangs open in shock.

"Uh, I-I mean I, uh," he stutters.

"Gotcha." She smiles. "I just love watching you squirm."

"That was mean."

She kisses his cheek. "You're right. You weren't nearly this adorable before me."

He rolls his eyes. She bites down on her lip. "Phil?"

"Hmm?"

"If I would have been just your friend when you met her..." She glances down at his fingers tightly intertwined with hers. "Would you have fallen in love with her?"

He rests the back of his head against the wall. "I don't know, Keel." He sighs. "I think I could have fallen in love with the idea of her."

She furrows her brow. "What does that mean?"

He looks down at her. "It was so easy to be around her."

"Yeah," she says looking at their hands again. "You mentioned that once or twice."

He leans closer to her. "But Sara had one really significant flaw that I could never get around."

"Her tendency to want to steal my boyfriend?" Keely mutters.

Phil smiles and whispers into her ear, "Her tendency to not be at all like you."

"I guess you mentioned that once or twice too."

He laughs. "You're definitely one of a kind, Keel."

She smiles lazily and he rests his head against hers.

"Phil?"

"Yeah?"

"I told Via you're from the future." He winces as she looks over at him. "Do you feel betrayed?"

He sighs. "Nah." He shrugs. "And since I haven't been kidnapped by men in black yet, I think that means my secret's safe with her."

Keely smiles in relief. "She won't tell a soul."

"Didn't you say something similar once?" he asks raising his eyebrow in suspicion.

"I had to tell her _something_, Phil. She was being all...Via-like..with the eyebrow thing and the..the.."

He chuckles. "It's ok, Keel."

"Really?"

"It's fine." He furrows his brow. "How did she take it?" he ask curiously.

Keely nods. "Very well."

"Hmm." He tilts his head to the side. "Does anything faze that girl?"

"Oh, you should see her in the mall on take-an-extra-10-off-already-reduced-clearance-day."

"Ummm...I'll take your word for it."

She nods and lifts her hand to hide the yawn she has been suppressing for a while now.

Phil glances down at her. "I should go," he says regretfully.

She shakes her head as he attempts to leave her side. He looks down at her with a soft expression. "You're half-asleep all ready."

"Stay with me?" she asks quietly. "For tonight?"

He's powerless to deny her request, and he switches off the lamp and moves to sit on the floor next to her bed, but she pulls back the covers for him. He debates her invitation. Her mom might not appreciate it, and he really should be home...

But he slips out of his shoes, and easily settles in next to her. Her hands come to rest on his chest, his hand on her waist, and their foreheads touch. They share the same breaths, and she fights back the tears.

She's not ready for this. With all the preparation, with all the build-up, she's not ready. She broke the clock, but time keeps ticking on through the night, taking her life with it.

Has the night been as good as it could have been? Should they have gone somewhere? On the Skyak, maybe? Is there something he hasn't shown her? Is there something else she needs to see?

The fear rises within her, and she can't push it down. Moments matter. Simple, small, fleeting moments matter the most. Life couldn't exist without them. And these moments, the ones that have just passed, the ones she feels right now, the ones still to come, the moments between him lying next to her and the inevitable that comes with the morning, these moments matter. Tomorrow, will she look back on them and know without any doubt that she lived them to the fullest?

And as he gazes into her eyes, he can see the worry she feels. He feels it too.

"There's so much I want to tell you, Keely..." he whispers. "I'm afraid I'm going to leave and you'll never really know...how much I love you."

The fight is lost as the tears spill over and down her face. "I know, Phil," she barely whispers. "I do."

He gently kisses her lips, and he can taste her tears. They are the sweetest heaven and the darkest hell.

She sobs quietly. "I can't say goodbye to you."

He closes his eyes and presses his lips to her forehead. "Then don't." His thumb traces her cheek and wipes away the trail her tears have made.

She takes a few breaths to gather herself. "I won't." She looks into his eyes. "I'll go to sleep..." she whispers, "and when I wake up..." Her fingertips trace the outline of his jaw, his lips, "Everything will be the way it's meant to be."

Within seconds, as his gentle caresses along her spine calm the storm raging within, her eyelids fall. And Phil holds her tight. And when she finally sleeps, then he sleeps too.

A soft glow awakens him hours later. He opens his eyes to find her on her back next to him, his face close to her shoulder, and his arm resting across her stomach. He lifts his head to look into her peaceful expression. He smiles. Maybe her dreams really do make her happy. Maybe her life makes her happy as well, her past and her present. And just maybe, her future will too.

_It's daybreak, and you are asleep_

He glances down at his watch in the dim early morning light. He has to leave her now. Her mom will be awakening soon, and his family too, and he should be gone before either of those things happen. He carefully and slowly pulls back the cover and pushes himself off the bed. She never stirs.

_I can hear you breathe now, your breath is deep_

As he bends down to her, his fingers lightly graze her open palm. The pieces are returned. His lips faintly touch her cheek, and he slowly backs away from her.

One step by one step, he increases the distance between them. He can hear her voice in his mind, her soft laughter, all filling him completely. Placing his hand on the knob, he quietly opens the door just enough for him to slip out.

_But before I go, I look at you one last time_

The room is incredibly silent. The world outside does not make a single sound. The moment hangs on the edge of eternity.

_I can hear a heartbeat, is it your heart or is it mine?_

He watches her, unable to tear his gaze from her. He wills his feet to move him from the doorway, but they are frozen in place. They are at the command of something far beyond him.

Thinking of all the moments, the memories as they rush through his entire being, he makes a promise to himself, a promise to her. He can't be here with her now, or tomorrow, or the next day... not in this life ever again. But he can promise to always love her; he can do that. And he can promise to never forget.

_I'll remember you... You will be there in my heart_

He won't say goodbye either. He slowly pulls the door shut.

_I'll remember you...That is all that I can do_

His gaze lingers on her face one last time. He smiles even as his eyes shine with tears.

_...I'll remember..._

And the door softly clicks.


	17. Chapter 17

Last chapter. Finally. A big thanks to everyone for all your awesome reviews, your flattering and kind words. I am forever in your debt. I know I probably lost a few Pheely fans, but it had to be this way, guys. I'm sorry. Maybe my next story, if one should ever come into full fruition, will be more agreeable. After all, I'm still a 'shipper. Hopefully, this ending is happy for someone.

No, Sultan, of course you're not stupid. And I would never judge you as stupid. Maybe a few other choice words, but never stupid. And, I'm glad your name and the "Back to the Future" episode are soul mates.

Well, moofoot, if you ever get this far, I _did_ manage to finish without your reviews, just not well.

Chapter 17

Before the first rays of the morning sun break over the horizon, a girl weaves through a maze of jagged boulders along a towering hillside. She turns back to see the outline of her footprints in the sandy earth along the path.

Just one set of footprints.

She looks away and continues her journey up the trail. When she reaches the ledge, her face greets the soft glow in the eastern sky. She sits upon the edge of the rock and breathes out a sigh. The light wind sweeping up from the valley blows a strand of hair across her face, and she tucks it behind her ear.

The horizon is set aflame as the sun prepares to peek over the landscape. Her fingers lightly trace the smooth surface of the rock beneath her, supporting her, while her gaze remains locked on the rock wall on the ground below. The sun finally bursts forth from the confines of the pre-dawn sky, and she smiles as the rays pass through the holes.

The cool early morning breeze drifts over the rocks, carrying a familiar, faint voice.

_...that was really cool..._

She shakes her head. Without fail, this place has let her pretend everything she can imagine, but not that. He could never not matter to her, then or now, in this place or any other. Never.

She knew the memories would haunt her in this place today like they have every day she come here since... She knew the memories would haunt her in this place just like every place they shared. To this day, they still come to her. They'll never really ever go away. And she won't let them.

Patting the rock, she smiles. "My rock. You have been so good to me over the years." She sighs. "Especially since..." She laughs softly. "Well, you know all about that."

The sun rises higher in the sky and the patterns of light disappear. "Even though I abandoned you there for a while, you've been faithful to me."

She pats the rock again. "I'm still sorry about that, by the way. But I'm going to be leaving you again in a few months so..." She inhales deeply and rises to her feet. "This is goodbye."

She smiles. "For good this time." She glances around the spot, her spot. "I don't need you anymore, and I mean that now."

"I have my life to live." She gazes out at the vast expanse of land stretching eastward to the orange horizon. "And I still have him."

"Thank you," she whispers.

Taking one last long look at the familiar terrain, the rock, the horizon, the trail, she slowly makes her way off the ledge back onto the sandy path. Soon she reaches the bottom of the hill without a single misstep.

"Owen, wake up."

He snorts and wipes some drool from his lip. "Five more minutes, Mom," he mutters.

Via reaches over and smacks his shoulder. He lifts his head and stares at her through sleepy eyes. "Do I look like your mother?"

He smiles lazily. "Nope. Much better," he slurs.

She rolls her eyes as Keely approaches the side of the car.

"I wasn't sleeping," he says quickly as he straightens up in his seat.

Keely raises her eyebrow. "Well, I hope that imprint on your cheek from the steering wheel goes away before we get to school."

Via laughs as Owen inspects the emblem on his skin in the rearview mirror. "_Awesome_." He grins at Via as he points at his face. "Toyota!" He winks. "Turns you on, doesn't it?"

She blinks slowly. "Ready to go?" she asks Keely as she completely disregards him.

Keely nods and slides into the backseat.

"Sooo...what were you doin' out there, Keel?"

She sighs. "Owen, for the last time... I'm not telling you."

Via points at the wheel. "Just drive."

He scoffs as he starts the engine and puts the car into gear. "Do you two realize how uncool it is to arrive early on our last day of high school ever?" He glances at the clock. "_Way_, _way_ early."

They both ignore him, as usual. Via glances back at Keely and notices a white piece of paper sticking out from her purse. "What's that?"

She looks down and smiles as she eagerly grabs it up. "Surprise!"

Via takes the paper in her hand and quickly scans the contents. "You've been accepted?" She turns back to Keely. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I just found out last night," she says with a humble shrug.

"Congratulations, Keely."

She grins. "Thanks." She takes the paper back and neatly tucks it into her purse. "Apparently they were very impressed with my application package."

Owen furrows his brow and looks at her reflection in the rearview mirror. "You mean those disc things?"

"Yeah," she replies softly as she watches the trees along the side of the road. "Exactly."

She smiles to herself. 'Flashy Demo Reel Part 2' was certainly harder to come by than its predecessor since she had to do the work herself, but the effort certainly paid off.

"Well, I think this calls for..." Owen says glancing over at Via and then over his shoulder at Keely. "Celebration breakfast burritos with hot sauce! Yeah!"

Via cringes and Keely frowns in disgust at the thought of such food regardless of the particular hour of the day.

"Celebration...cappuccinos with foam?"

Keely asks cheerfully, "Are you buyin'?"

He rolls his eyes. "Don't I always?"

Via nods. "I'm in then."

"Ooh, and with cinnamon sprinkled on top?" Keely asks eagerly.

Via looks at her. "Mmm, that sounds good."

"All right then, my chickadees, cappuccinos with foam _and_ cinnamon sprinkled on top, are a go."

Of course, that little reference in that particular comment set off another lecture from Via on proper ways to address women. Keely shakes her head as the two of them bicker back and forth. Having learned a long time ago that staying out of their arguments is best, she turns her attention to her window.

And with a smile on her face, she thinks of her two best friends and what she'd ever do without them in her life. She thinks of the good times they've had, and the even better times they are sure to have on up the road.

And with a warmth in her heart reserved only for him, she thinks of the boy...

Always.

A brunette girl looks up from her spot on the floor of her bedroom as the door slides open to reveal her best friend watching her with a smile on his face.

"Hey, how was Orientation?"

He sighs. "It was...information-filled." She raises her eyebrow and he adds, "I still don't think Wizrd Corp is for me."

"Well, no one forced you to go."

"I know," he says taking a seat on the floor in front of her. "Dad gave up on that dream a long time ago." He thinks to himself, about 100 years ago actually. "I just don't know what my thing is, you know?"

"You'll figure it out."

He scoffs. "Says the girl who was _born_ to be a nanogeneticist."

She nods proudly. "Well, we can't all be a prodigy in a prestigious field."

He rolls his eyes and gestures to the miscellaneous items on the floor. "What's all this?"

"Ancient junk my mom's been hounding me to go through for weeks now," she says unenthusiastically. "I mean look at this." She holds them up. "_Photographs_?" She scoffs. "I can't believe she's kept all this stuff this long."

She tosses the pictures onto the floor. Phil frowns. "They're memories, Gwenn."

"Not mine."

A gleam of something metallic catches his eye. Slowly, he reaches out to pluck the object out from underneath the pile of photographs and cards. The memories suddenly become his own.

"But I'll keep that," she says with a smile. "I'm thinking of making it into a necklace."

"This was in that box?"

"Yeah." She sifts through the pile until she finds a cream-colored envelope. "In here." She holds it closer to her face. "According to the label..it belonged to my great-great grandmother."

"Was her name...Sara?"

Gwenn looks down at the envelope for confirmation and raises her eyebrow as she glances up at him. "How did you know that?"

He stares down at the charm and wonders when it lost its keyring. "Wow..." He laughs and shakes his head. "Makes sense now."

"Care to explain?"

He looks at her, and for the first time since he's been back, he really sees her. The resemblance is uncanny. The brown hair, the dark green eyes, even her smile. Her brilliant mind and her ability to make him feel...

He looks down at the object in his hand. Comfort. He laughs out loud, and she gives him a look, but he doesn't care. He couldn't figure it out, and he couldn't make Keely understand either. If only he could tell her now...

He smiles. "You're a lot like your great-great grandmother, Gwenn."

"Oh no." She shakes her head. "Don't tell me you met her during your little vacation." He nods. "Ok," she says holding up her hand, "that is creepy." Phil laughs. "Were you friends with her?"

"For a..." He clears his throat and chuckles. "For a..very short time."

She crosses her arms over her chest. "Phil...why do I get the feeling that when you told me about your adventures in the 21st century, you left out all the good parts?" He glances around nonchalantly. "I'm sensing girl troubles...wait, please don't say that _she_ was the girl you had trouble with..." She shudders. "Because that is wrong on so many levels."

"Well..."

"Just tell me you didn't date her."

"I didn't."

"Whew!"

He shrugs. "But I did almost kiss her once. _Almost_."

She stares at him with a blank expression. "Ok.." she says slowly. "Change that 'whew' to 'ew'." Phil rolls his eyes. "Wait. Almost?"

He nods. "I had a girlfriend."

"What! You never mentioned any--" She narrows her eyes at him. "Now see, this is the good stuff I was talking about."

"It's a long story."

He sighs as she pins him down with an unrelenting stare. "Ok...from the top..."

Nearly an hour passes as he recalls his time spent with Keely, their friendship, the development of feelings for one another, and the ultimate confessions of those feelings. He tells her about their relationship, their love, the tests against it, and its near demise. And then of the night he walked away from her.

"...and the next morning..I left."

Gwenn sniffs and holds her hand over her heart while wiping away a tear with the other. "That was so moving. That was the saddest, yet most heartwarming story I've ever heard." Suddenly, her tears vanish as she laughs and points at him. "I can't believe _you_ had a girlfriend!"

"Hey..."

She contains her laughter and offers him a sincere look of sympathy. "You must have really loved her."

"I did," he says quietly as he looks down at the floor. "I do." He sighs. "She doesn't exist anymore but..." He looks back up at his best friend since early childhood. "Somehow she does."

"You've always been such a sensitive guy, Phil," she replies trying to hide her smile.

"And your ridicule is why I left out the 'good' parts," he says dryly.

"How come I'm just hearing about this girl now?"

He lowers his eyes to his hands where his finger traces the outline of the engraving on the shiny metal. "It was hard to..." He swallows his emotion, the same emotion that comes to him every now and then when he thinks about her. Usually, thoughts of her bring a smile to his face and a spring in his step, but sometimes, he can't ignore the pain. "I just thought keeping it to myself would be better."

She nods in understanding, deciding not to further press him. "So tell me, was she pretty?"

"Words cannot describe," he replies without hesitation. "I have a picture..well, two actually. I'll have to show you sometime."

"Yes, you will."

A quiet buzzing noise comes from a small gadget lying on the floor next to her. "Oh, that's my date!" She looks at Phil as she rises to her feet. "I hate to kick you out.."

He stands up. "It's ok, I--"

"But I will."

"Ok, then. See ya."

"Hey Phil," she says as the door slides open for him. He turns back to her expectantly. "She's the reason for your..lack of enthusiasm when you came back?"

"She is the reason," he says slowly, "period."

The buzz sounds again, and Gwenn punches a button and harshly whispers a quick 'hold on' into the device in her hand. "Do you want to come with us? Have some fun?"

He shakes his head, and she steps towards him. "Don't take this the wrong way..but...you can't wait for her, Phil. She's not coming back. She can't."

He nods gently. "I know."

"And you're not _going_ back so..."

He sighs. "I'll date again, Gwenn. Don't worry about me. I'll date, I'll break up, and the vicious cycle will repeat itself." He looks down at his feet. "And, someday, I'll probably even fall in love." He looks back at his friend. "But she won't be Keely."

"Phil.."

"And that's ok. She never could be Keely...so she doesn't have to be."

Gwenn places a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Do you ever wonder how her life turned out?"

He just grins.

"Ah, clever thinking, Phil." He shrugs sheepishly. "So, did she end up happy?"

The memories come to mind, memories of what he had discovered upon his return and memories of what she had spoken to him in the moonlit field.

He smiles. "I believe she did."

With a goodbye to his friend, he steps out and makes his way through her house to the front door. With a smile and a wave, he passes by the familiar face waiting there impatiently.

And as he walks the short distance to his house, with a warmth in his heart reserved only for her, he thinks of the girl...

Always.


End file.
